The Battle Lord Chronicles: Of Truths and Lies
by Basic Imperfection
Summary: See Version 2.
1. Introduction: Character profiles

A/N (as of 1/08): Before I start this story, I want to warn those you who are reading this about the grammar of the first 15 or so chapters of the story. You see, since I started writing this story nearly two years ago, my grammar has improved dramatically and while my grammar wasn't that bad originally, I did make quite a few mistakes every now and then. So, I implore you to look past it for now and just focus on the story. I plan on eventually rewriting this story to fix the grammar and clear up the few plot holes that exist, but I want to finish the story and get onto the sequel first (yes, it will have a sequel). So, until then, please read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Introduction  
_Character Profiles_

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**Name:** Kristen Walker

**Nickname(s):** Kristy, Kris

**Eye color:** deep sapphire blue

**Hair:** raven black that reaches her lower back

**Height:** 5'1

**Age:** 16

**Birthday:** October 9th

**Personality:** She is a quiet person who keeps to herself most of the time… that is at least to people who don't really know her. Her friends and family know that she has quite a temper and a I-don't-give-a-shit attitude.

**Background:** Her parents died when she was 4 years old, so she doesn't really remember them. Her older brother Jason has taken care of her since her parents died so they are really close, unlike most siblings. Her two best friends, Jessie and Chris, are almost like family since they basically grew up.

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**Name:** Jason Walker

**Nickname(s):** Jay

**Eye color:** ice blue

**Hair: **spiky and messy; jet black

**Height:** 6'3

**Age:** 20

**Personality:** He always seems to have a sarcastic comment on hand along with a cocky smile but can be quite serious when the situation calls for it.

**Background: **His parents died when he was about 8 years old and ever since he has taken care of his little sister, Kristy. He currently lives in an apartment with Kristy and works a day job even though they inherited their parents money when they died (their parents were pretty rich).

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**Name:** Jessica Calan

**Nickname(s):** Jessie, Jess

**Eye color:** dark green

**Hair:** brown that reaches the middle of her back

**Height:** 5'6

**Age:** 16

**Personality:** Slightly bubbly, but also very bright. Jessie is a very kind person who can also be quite girly, while still managing to be intelligent. She is the perfect balance to Kristy's attitude.

**Background:** She has lived a basically normal life. She currently goes to school with her two best friends Kristy and Chris.

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**Name:** Dan Rawl

**Nickname(s):** Danny

**Eye color:** dark brown

**Hair:** shaggy brown (kind of comes down over his eyes)

**Height:** 6'0

**Age:** 16

**Personality:** He's calm and collected, but also has a fun side that can laugh like there's no tomorrow. He is very loyal to his friends and so almost seems like a cross between Yusuke and Kurama.

**Background:** He has lived a basically normal life. He currently goes to school with his two best friends Kristy and Jessie.


	2. Chapter 1: New kids

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 1  
_New Kids_

* * *

(**Kristy's POV**)

"Kristy! Get your ass up and get ready for school!" How wonderful. This is how I wake up… every morning… to my brother yelling… I repeat my previous statement: How fucking wonderful.

This is what goes through my head as I slowly wake up. Not even fully aware, I stumble out of bed and into the bathroom to get ready. Once done with my daily rituals in there, I walk back into my room and toss on some clothes. I decide to wear a pair of baggy pants that are so dark purple they almost look black, a black t-shirt, black arm band and a pair of black fingerless gloves. Bet you can guess what my favorite color is now (.). Any ways, as I pull on my shoes I glance around my room.

Personally, I think my room is the coolest thing to ever exist on earth, but that might just be because I decorated it. I have dark purple walls with silver borders on the top and bottom, a fluffy black carpet, and a black ceiling with a silver dragon on it that I painted myself. My bed sits in the middle of the room against the wall. Its canopy is black as well as all of the blankets while the pillows are purple. I also have various pieces of furniture in the room (like desk, dresser, bookshelf, etc.) that are stained black. Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite feature of the room: the window seat. It is black with purple cushions and the view over looks the nearby forest. I love to just sit there and look outside, especially while it is raining outside. I love the rain, I don't know why, but for some reason I have always loved the rain.

I smile slightly as I complete my room inspection and start to walk towards my room's door. I freeze as I put my hand on the door handle, realizing I had forgotten something. I quickly run over to my bedside table, grab my black choker, and put it on as I rush towards the kitchen (it's a pretty big apartment). I see my brother Jason sitting there eating some toast. I am about to sit down with him to eat breakfast when he stops me.

"Look at the clock," he tells me with out looking up. I do so and my eyes nearly pop out of my head when I see how late it is.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier!" I ask as I glare at my brother.

"I did," he grunts, still not looking up. "You just wouldn't get up." I growl at him and am about to say something else when he interrupts. "And if you don't go now you will be even later." He finally looks up and much to my displeasure he has a slight smirk on his face. I give him an even bigger glare before grabbing a piece of toast and running out the door with my bag. "Hey! That's mine!" I can here him shout after me, which makes me smirk instead and slightly lifts my pissed-off mood.

I continue to run down the street, when I can see two people ahead of me. I speed up a little bit more as I realize that the two people are my friends, Chris and Jessica. I quickly run up behind them and jump onto Chris' back.

"Chello peoples!" I say and grin as Chris stumbles beneath me.

"Gah!" Jessica instinctively jumps backwards and nearly runs into a fence. "Dude," she says when her heart calms down slightly from the surprise. "You've got to stop doing that or some day you're going to give us both a heart attack!"

I simply dismiss her overdramatic reaction with a wave of my hand. "Eh," I say. "You should be used to it by now." Jessica shakes her head at me, but keeps walking. I continue to travel on Chris' back all the way to our school, chatting with Jessica while Chris laughs at us.

5 or so minutes later we arrive at school and split up to go to our lockers. After I have grabbed the things I need for my first class – which is math – I make my way towards the classroom. I stroll in literally as the bell rings. My teacher, Mr. Dern (Me: that's my actually math teacher's name), glares at me as I walk to my seat but knows that he can't do anything. I swear that he hates me. I guess it's because I'm great at math, but I always fool around because I hate the class despite my grades. It's just way to boring! Then again, it might be Mr. Dern's monotone voice as well.

I sit in my seat and stare sleepily at the board that Mr. Dern is writing on while he talks. I'm so bored that I slip into a half-conscious state as I start to think about random things. Like, for example, how everyone thinks that all math teachers are tall and skinny, well that is definitely not true. Take Mr. Dern, he's extremely fat… only what's even scarier is that most of his "fat" is actually muscle. I guess it's because he is also one of the school's football (American football, not soccer) coaches… and that in itself is another question. Why don't Americans call soccer football like the European peoples? I mean it does make more sense since you basically use only your feet… and why-

"-alker! Ms. Walker! MS. WALKER!" I am jolted out of my thoughts by a loud voice next to my ear. I look up only to see Mr. Dern glaring down at me.

I rub the back of my head nervously. "Y-yes sir?" I ask.

"I asked you the answer to the problem on the board, now will you please answer?" Mr. Dern says.

I glance up at the board and quickly answer. "63 sir," I say.

Mr. Dern glares down at me again before saying through gritted teeth, "That is correct." He then somehow stalks back to the board; I say somehow because I would have expected to waddle.

I see Jessica – who sits to my right – give me a dry look. I give her an innocent one back. It's not my fault Mr. Dern is mad at me, I mean he should know by now that I already know the answers! Jessica just rolls her eyes at me and focuses her attention back on the teacher. I grin slightly and am about to go back into my I'm-so-bored-I-will-think-about-anything-to-keep-my-mind-off-of-math state when I hear Mr. Dern speak again, but this time – and for about the first time ever – say something interesting.

"Class," he says. "We have four new students today." I look up and see four boys and a girl standing next to him. The first one is pretty tall, around 5'7 – 5'8 and has brown eyes and black, slicked back hair. I offhandedly think how many bottles of gel he used to get his hair like that; it must feel like a rock! He also has the look of a street punk, the type that doesn't look like he usually goes to school. I wonder why he is here then? It must be the girl standing next to him who is glaring up at him. She is a bit shorter than him, has brown hair and eyes and a very motherly look. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that she bullied him into coming here.

The second boy in someone that makes me wince. He is tall (well into 6 feet), has as orange Elvis imitation hair-style, and a face that looks like it got it by a truck. I can already tell that this boy probably has the IQ of an ape… wait, scratch that, apes probably have a high level of intelligence than him.

I look towards the next guy and can immediately tell that he is a pretty boy. He has long red hair and brilliant emerald eyes that look extremely intelligent. However, as I look at his eyes I can see a sneakiness underneath that reminds me of a fox; it's something that most peoples probably would have over looked.

Shaking off my thoughts I turn to the next boy and my breath catches in my throat for a moment. He is short, around my height, has gravity defying hair with a white starburst around his bangs, and gorgeous crimson eyes that seem to be the same shade as blood. There is something about this boy that makes him seem very dangerous and it fascinates me.

I am suddenly brought out of my study by Mr. Dern's voice as he introduces the 5 students. He introduces Gel Boy as Yusuke Urameshi, Mother Hen as Keiko (I don't know her last name, Idiot as Kazuma Kuwabara, Red as Suiichi Minamoto, and Blood as Hiei Jaganshi.

"So would you mind telling us why all of you have moved to this school?" Mr. Dern asks them.

Suiichi is the one who answers and – as I anticipated – he sounds very intelligent. "Well sir," he says. "There was an umm… accident… and our previous school burnt down. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the school was unsalvageable and so everyone had to change schools.

Mr. Dern nods at the explanation. "Well then, we are honored that you chose to join this school," he says (I don't feel like coming up with a school name). He then turns towards the rest of the class. "I expect you all to make them feel welcome. Oh, and someone will need to show them around the school." He looks around the classroom for a moment before his eyes come to rest on me. "Ms. Walker," he smirks. "You will be their guide." I feel my eye twitch slightly. I swear that he is trying to kill me… or at least slowly torture me.

However, instead of commenting a back I put on a fake smile and say in a sickly sweet voice, "Of course sir," and stand up. Mr. Dern glares at me, but says nothing as I make my way towards the front of the classroom.


	3. Chapter 2: Boyfriend

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 2  
_Boyfriend!_

* * *

I walked towards the front of the room with Mr. Dern glaring at me the whole way. When I finally reach it I head towards the door without so much as a glance to the new students. Once the door closes behind them I turn around to face them with a smirk on my face.

"Don't mind him," I say to the 4 boys and the girl. "He's just an annoying old bastard."

The one called Yusuke - Gel Boy - smiles back at me. "At least someone in this school is interesting," he says. "Anything you can tell us to look out for?"

"Well, Mr. Dern and Mrs. Ahl (pronounced All) are the worst as far as teachers go," I say wrinkling my nose slightly at their names. "And for students, a lot of people are afraid of Ralph (random name), but believe me, he's just a cowardly jerk. Oh, and I also would recommend you look out for Marisa and Clair, a.k.a. Slut #1 and Slut #2." Yusuke laughs at my comment and I can already tell that he seems pretty cool. I think I will get along pretty well him.

Suiichi - who I have dubbed Red - smiles at me kindly. "Might I ask your name Ms. Walker?" he asks.

"It's Kristina," I say with a smirk. "But you can call me Kristy."

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you Kristy," Suiichi says. I am about to answer when suddenly Idiot (Kuwabara) is down on the floor in front of me, holding my hand.

"I am the great Kazuma Kuwabara!" he exclaims. "Would you do the honor of going out with me?" I stare at him for a moment, my eye twitching slightly before answering.

"If you don't get the hell away from me right now," I say to him while yanking my hand away. "Then I will show you the way to the hospital."

Idiot (I refuse to call him Kuwabara) looks at me confused. "But why would I go to the hospital?" he asks me. I look at him oddly, wondering if he is just joking around or if he's really that stupid. Finally, I shake my head and turn towards the hall

"Come on," I say motioning to the direction I was walking. "I'm supposed to give you a tour." I then continue to walk with all of the new students, minus Yusuke who is still rolling on the floor laughing at Kuwabara.

* * *

Later I'm sitting in the lunch room with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Suiichi, and Hiei waiting for my two best friends to come out. I'm staring at the doors that come from the cafeteria (everyone eats outside) when a voice breaks into your reverie.

"Looking for someone?" Suiichi asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "My two friends Chris and Jessica."

Suiichi sits up at the last name. "Jessica? As is Jessica Calan?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say looking at him confused. "How'd you know?"

"Well I-" Suiichi starts to say when a voice interrupts him.

"Kristy! Kristy!" I turn to see Jessica runs up to me. "Where have you been? I-" she freezes when she sees Suiichi standing next to me. "Oh, hey Suiichi." She says with a smile and a slight blush.

"Hi, it's nice to see you again," Suiichi answers with a return smile.

I, meanwhile, am looking back and forth between them, utterly confused. "You two now each other?" I ask.

"Um, yeah," Jessica says with an apologetic look on her face. "I kind of forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what Jessie?" I ask her suspiciously.

"Umm… well, I kind met Suiichi over the summer and umm… well… he's my boyfriend," Jessica says, finishing the last part really quickly.

I nearly choke on the pop I had been drinking. "You got boyfriend and didn't even tell me!" I exclaim.

"Who's got a boyfriend?" I hear from behind me. I turn around only to find Yusuke. I mentally sweatdrop; I had completely forgotten that Yusuke and the other new kids were here!

Yusuke's question was immediately followed by a "Suiichi's got a girlfriend!" from Kuwabara and a "Why didn't you tell us!" from Keiko (Me: Oh by the way, let my just tell you that everyone is sitting at a lunch table outside and it is Kristy, Yusuke, and Kuwabara across from Suiichi, Keiko, and Hiei with you across from Suiichi, Yusuke across from Keiko, etc.).

Suiichi almost blushes for a moment. "Umm… guys, this is my girlfriend Jessica," he introduces.

Several people say "Nice to meet you" to which Jessica politely replies to. I grin slightly a Jessica, which only makes her blush, which makes me grin even harder.

I'm about to comment to her when I suddenly hear another yell. "Kristy! Jessica!" someone calls.

I rub my ear slightly and mutter, "What's with all the yelling today?" but turn to the yeller with a grin.

"Over here Chris," I call to him.

He instantly walks over to me but cocks his head slightly when he sees Yusuke and the others. "Who're they?" he asks.

"They're new," I reply simply, then suddenly grin. "But Red over here is Jessie's boyfriend."

Chris looks at him in interest, but Suiichi's interest is now on me. "Red?" he asks.

I just grin and Jessica answers for me. "She has this thing with giving people nicknames," she says with a roll of her eyes.

"Then what's yours?" Yusuke asks.

Jessica colors slightly. "You don't want to know," she answers and looks away. By now I am just barely holding back laughter; such wonderful memories.

Suiichi looks at Jessica amusedly, but turns his attention to Chris. "I'm Suiichi," he says, holding out his hand.

"Chris," said person answers taking Suiichi's hand.

* * *

The rest of the day seems to pass pretty quickly, and I don't have any of the new kids in any more of my classes. By the time the last bell rings, I'm already running down the hall towards my locker, wanting to get out of school as soon as possible. As soon as I have my stuff, I run through the front door and outside. My eye twitches slightly when I see Chris and Jessica already standing under the tree that we always meet at.

"How is it that no matter how fast I get out here, you're both always already here?" I ask them with a growl. Chris smirks and Jessica giggles, so I just roll my eyes. "Whatever," I say. "Let's just go."

I start to walk with Jessica and Chris following me, when Jessie suddenly calls to something behind us. "Suiichi!" she calls. "Suiichi, come here!" I turn around and see that she is calling to Suiichi and his friends.

The group quickly walks over to where we are. "Hi Jessie," he says with a sweet smile.

"Hey," Jessica answers. "Look, Kristy, Chris, and I always walk home together and we were wondering if you and your friends would like to walk with us?"

Suiichi glances back at his friends and when they all shrug he answers, "Sure why not,"

'_And so all – _**checks the number of people** _– eight of us are walking down the road,_' I think with a mental growl. It's not that I don't like Suiichi and his friends, quite the contrary actually; I think they're really cool, it's just that I'm not in the greatest mood right now. Why you ask? One word: Ahl. As in Mrs. Ahl, the biggest bitch on the planet. Let's just say she proved that title today.

I continue thinking about what happened with her earlier today when a voice brings me back to the present. "You okay?" someone asks.

I jerk up and see Yusuke walking besides me. "Huh?" I ask.

"It's just that you're glaring at the sidewalk so hard that I'm surprised it's not cracking," Yusuke laughs. I blink in surprise; I hadn't realize what I was doing.

"Mrs. Ahl again?" Chris asks coming over to walk on my left side.

I smirk at him. "Cha," I answer.

"Cha?" Yusuke asks from my right (Me: What I mean by this is that Yusuke is walking on her right and Chris is on her left).

"It means yes," I say with a shrug.

"In what language?" Yusuke asks.

I shrug again. "None," I reply.

"Huh?"

"It's just something Kristy says," Chris tells him as he puts an arm around my shoulder. "It's not in another language."

I give Chris an innocent look and ask, "Should it be?" Both Chris and Yusuke laugh and are about to reply when I suddenly realize where we are. "Sorry," I say as I slip out from Chris's grip. "But this is my street." I start to walk off and call, "See ya tomorrow!" over my shoulder. Chris, Jessica, Suiichi, and his friends all wave me goodbye as I leave.

I walk about half way down the street I had turned down and stop at an apartment building. Walking up to the door, I unlock it and walk inside. Glancing at the clock I see that Jason should be home now like he is everyday.

I start to walk around looking for him. "Jason? Jason?" I call. "Jay, where are you?"


	4. Chapter 3: What The Hell Is That

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 3  
_What. The. Hell. Is. That._

* * *

I walk around the apartment for another couple of minutes trying to find Jason, but to no avail. Thinking he might be in the forest next to our house where I quite often find him, I drop my backpack and head back out the door. I walk all the way down the street and turn onto a path that leads through the forest.

I have been walking for a couple of minutes when I suddenly hear a large crash from somewhere a little off to the side of the path. I pause for a minute, wondering whether or not to see what the crash was. I know that I should just ignore it and continue walking, but my curiosity eventually wins me over and I head into the trees to investigate.

I walk for a little bit without finding anything and am about to turn back when I hear some more noise just ahead. I quietly push my way through the bushes and am surprised when I see Jason just behind some trees in front of me. I take a step towards him and start to call out when I suddenly freeze.

What. The. Hell. Is. That.

Standing in front of Jason is something unlike anything I have ever seen. It is a tall man-like creature with blue skin, sharp claws and teeth, and a large white horn in the middle of its forehead.

I gasp upon seeing this; I mean it's impossible right? But impossible or not it's standing in front my brother with evil grin on its face. I'm so wrapped up in staring at this creature that I'm almost literally jolted out of my trance when Jason leaps toward the creature, a dagger in either hand.

The strange creature immediately counters by putting his hands facing Jason, palms out. "ICE NEEDLES!" it yells. Even as the words leave his mouth, hundreds of tiny ice shards fly out of the palms of its glowing hands and impale themselves in my brother.

The force of the attack pushes Jason back and slams him into a tree. I stare in horror and then suddenly realize that my feet are already carrying me over to where he lies.

"Jason!" I call out as soon as I reach him. I kneel by his side and lift his head up slightly. "Come on Jay, are you alright?"

"Kris," he says hoarsely. "You've got to get out of here. Run. Go."

I shake my. "You seriously think I'm going to just leave you here?" I ask him.

"You should listen to him and run you fool little girl," the strange creature cackles, starting to slowly walk towards us.

I feel my eye twitch slightly and I realize that I'm starting to get really pissed off. Not only has this... this... thing! Threatened my brother, but it has also called me little. That doesn't go down well with me I hate to be called little. I mean, just because I'm short, doesn't mean I'm a little girl.

As these thought go through my head I start to become more and more enraged. I stand up and slowly turn towards the creature. It's then that I feel a strange, yet comforting, warmth envelope me.

Acting on instinct, I put my hand forward, palms out, just as the creature had done. "FIRE BALL!" I yell out without a second thought. My hands glow orange for a moment then a ball of fire, about a foot in diameter, shoots out of my hands and straight at the creature. Even as it moves towards the creature, the ball seems to be growing every second.

The creature seems to be in a state of shock and doesn't even move as the ball of flame flies towards it and engulfs it whole. As the smoke disappears, all that is left is a black scorch mark on the ground.

I sigh in relief, but at the same time am kind of scared at what had happened. I hadn't done that... had I? Shaking off those thought as I finally calm down, I turn towards by brother to make sure he's okay.

I freeze when I see Jason sitting there, gaping at me. "K-k-Kristy?"


	5. Chapter 4: I'M A WHAT!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 4  
_I'M A WHAT!_

* * *

"I... uh..." I stutter.

Jason doesn't seem to hear me. "What... how..." he continues. Suddenly his confused face breaks into a smile. "Kris, you've found your demon form!"

Now it's my turn to gape at him. "I'VE WHAT!" I shout.

Still grinning like an idiot, Jason says, "I said you've found your demon side; which really is amazing, I would have thought it be at least a couple more years."

I stare at Jason for a minute. "What the fuck are you talking about! There's no such thing as demons!" I exclaim.

"Then what was that thing that you just destroyed?" Jason asks.

"It was just a... a... That was seriously a demon!" I say, realizing that my brother isn't joking.

Jason nods and then sighs. "I guess I should have explained this all to you a while ago," he says.

"You got that right," I mutter under my breath.

Jason glares at me, but then continues as if I hadn't said anything. "You see, there are actually three worlds. There is the Reikai a.k.a. the Spirit World, the Makai a.k.a. the Demon World, and the Ningenkai a.k.a. the Human World, which is where we live. The worlds were separated a few thousand years ago and humans long since turned the knowledge of the three worlds into myth and forgotten that demons actually exist."

"But why?" I interrupt. "How come we don't see demons everyday?"

"Like I said before," Jason answers. "The three worlds are separated by a barrier so that demons _can't_ enter the ningenkai and create havoc."

"Then how did this demon get here and how are we here?" I ask. "I'm guessing that you're a demon too."

Jason sighs again. "Some very powerful demons can create portals between the three worlds; but that is very rare. I believe that that demon was sent here by a powerful demon to find us."

I look at Jason confused. "Why would a powerful demon be looking for us?" I ask.

"Because he hated our parents," Jason answers.

"Huh! Okay, now I'm really confused; what do our parents have to do with this?" I say while holding my head.

"Our parents were demons," Jason says making my head shoot up to look at him.

"They were?"

"Yup, Mom was half wind demon and half psychic demon and Dad was half fire demon and half darkness demon."

"Cool," I say with grin but my grin quickly dissolves. "But that still doesn't answer why a powerful demon hated our parents."

"The demon's name is Bashere," Jason answers. "He was a life long enemy of our parents. You see Mom and Dad were pretty powerful too and just after you were born they created a portal and moved us all to the ningenkai to sort of "start a new life" and make sure we were safe from the horrors of the Makai. However, when you were 4 years old and I was 8 Bashere found out where our parents were and came and killed them. Fortunately, Bashere didn't know about either of us so we both survived the attack."

I am now gaping at my brother. "But you said that our parents were killed in a car crash!" I exclaim.

Jason gives me a dry look. "What the hell was I supposed to say?" he answers.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever Jay," I say. "But that doesn't tell me why that demon was attacking you, especially if this Bashere doesn't know that we exist."

"My guess is that Bashere some how found out about us," Jason muses. "I don't know how, but that is the only thing that makes sense."

I nod in agreement even though I am still in a slight daze. This is a lot to take in in one day.

* * *

A half an hour later Jason and I walk in through the door. I'm kind of tired from everything that has happened so I walk straight towards my room.

As I pass through the hallway I glance at the mirror and freeze. I stand there for a moment gaping at my reflection and taking it in. My black hair has now turned completely silver and my blue eyes now have a gold trim to them, I also have to ears sitting on top of my head. I hesitantly reach a hand up and feel one of the ears. The two ears are both silver with back tips and the fur is silky soft. I feel something swish behind me and am even more surprised when I see a silver and black tipped bushy tail hanging out from a hole in my pants.

I am so engrossed in my reflection that I jump when I feel someone put an arm around my shoulders. "You like?" Jason asks with a smile. "This is your demon form."

"I definitely like," I say with a return smile, finally getting over my shock. However that smile quickly turns to worry. "Umm..., Jason? I like the way I look, but don't you think that people will notice that I look different? I mean not that many people have ears and a tail."

Jason just laughs. "Don't worry! Just concentrate and you should be able to return to your human form." he says. Taking his word for it I concentrate, remembering what I used to look like until I suddenly see my reflection return to normal.

I smile and clap, slightly jumping up and down, "I did it!" I smile.

"Now you should be able to switch between forms easily." Jason says with a smile.

"Cool," I answer. "But why do I have ears and a tail?"

"You are 1/4 psychic demon, 1/4 fire demon, 1/4 darkness demon, and 1/4 wolf demon. The wolf demon part of you is where you get the ears and tail from," Jason tells me.

"Wolf demon? But where does that come from?" I ask.

Jason shrugs. "I don't know," I say. "There has probably been some wolf demon blood in our family for several generations and it just hasn't come out until now."

I nod in understanding. "What about you?" I ask Jason.

"I'm half wind demon and half psychic demon, just like Mom," he answers. "Go figure why I didn't get anything from Dad's side."

A huge grin suddenly spreads across my face. "What else do you think I can do?" I ask. "Besides that fire ball thing I mean."

"I don't know," Jason says. "Every demon is different so you are going to have to find out for yourself."

"But how?" I ask with a confused look on my face.

Jason smirks. "I'll start training you everyday after school starting tomorrow," he tells me. My face lights up in a grin. It's quite obvious that I am really excited. Jason's smirk turns into a grin at seeing my excitement. "We'll start with weapons and with mastering your Fire Ball. Your other powers should reveal themselves as we go."

I nod happily and practically skip back to my room. This has to be the coolest thing that has ever happened to me.


	6. Chapter 5: Food fights and sugar highs

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 5  
_Food fights and sugar highs_

* * *

The next day school flashes by and before I know it, I'm already sitting outside at lunch period.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Yusuke asks as he and Idiot (I still won't call him Kuwabara) scarf down their food.

I gag slightly. "Are you insane!" I exclaim. "Maybe you can eat all of the schools food that you want to, but I would rather still be alive tomorrow." Jessica giggles slightly at my comment but I ignore her as all of my attention is on not throwing up as I watch Yusuke and Idiot eat.

"Suit yourself," Yusuke shrugs before he goes back to eating, making him get hit over the head by Keiko, which makes him start choking, making him knock into Kuwabara, making Kuwabara fall over and knock his trey off the table, sending the trey flying and eventually landing on someone else, making that person throw some food at Kuwabara but it misses him and hits some dude a couple tables over, making that dude throw some food at someone else, making that person- Well, it just set off a whole chain reaction.

"Hey Kristy," Jessica says. I turn to face her, both of us ignoring the mayhem of flying food around us as we hide under the table. "Do you want to come over to my house after school?"

I shake my head. "Can't," I answer. "Jay wants me home."

Jessica nods in acceptance as I suddenly start grinning to myself at the thought that Jason was going to start training me after school today.

"What are you so happy about?" Jessica suddenly asks.

"Uh..." I say as I try to come up with a quick answer. "That it's Thursday?" Jessica looks at me funny. "Well, after Thursday is Friday which means we only have a day and a half until we're free from this hell hole!"

Jessica sighs exasperatedly. "Kristy, schools not that bad!" she says.

"That what they want you to believe!"

Jessica tries to glare at me for a moment before she just breaks down into giggles. I smirk at her and get out from under the table, seeing as the food fight has finally stopped.

The first sight I see makes me nearly burst out laughing. A few tables away the slut group is practically crying about their ruined clothing which just happens to be covered in food as is their hair. I turn around to congratulate Yusuke, only to see that he and Kuwabara are already being dragged away by the principle. I turn to my other friends. Keiko is scowling after Yusuke and Kuwabara (despite the fact that the whole food fight was partly her fault), Kurama is trying not to laugh but failing miserably, Chris and Jessica are outright laughing, and Hiei is no where to be found. This certainly turned out to be an interesting day.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed without incident and suddenly I'm already walking through the door to Jason and I's apartment (I don't really feel like describing the school day as you may have noticed).

"You're finally back?" Jason asks as he pokes his head out from the kitchen (she's standing in the living room).

I glare at him. "I'm always back at this time baka," I growl. My expression lightens suddenly. "When are we training?"

"Right now," Jason grins as he walks over to me, two katanas in hand. "Here," he says handing me one. "Let's go." With that he walks out the door, leaving me to follow behind.

We walked down the street in silence for several minutes, until I couldn't stand it any more.

"Sooooo," I say to break the silence. "What are you teaching me today?"

I see his eye twitch slightly. "What the hell do you think?" Jason asks.

"Is it the katana?" I ask with a huge grin. I love to play with peoples minds.

Jason's eye twitches again. "Yes," he growls out.

We walk in silence for another couple of minutes before I break it again.

"You sure?" I ask.

Twitch. "Yes,"

"Really sure?"

Twitch twitch. "Yes,"

"Absolutely completely sure?"

"Yes. I. Am." Jason answers through gritted teeth.

We continue walking.

"Are you sure you're sure?"

"Yes Kristy! I am absolutely positive! Now will you please shut up!" Jason explodes.

I giggle at Jason. "Just checking," Jason suddenly stops, giving me a strange look. "What?" I ask stopping beside him.

"You just giggled," he answers bluntly.

"So?"

"You never giggle,"

I arch an eyebrow at Jason. "So?" I repeat.

Jason throws his hands in the air in exasperation. "You're impossible!" he exclaims.

"I know," I say with another giggle.

"You just did it again," Jason says. Suddenly he gives me a suspicious look. "Have you had any ice cream recently?"

I glance at my brother with a shifty look. "What do you mean?" I ask. "What gives you that idea?"

Jason groans. "You have haven't you?" he asks.

I giggle again.

"I swear ice cream is like a drug for you," Jason says with a sigh. Then he shrugs. "At least it hasn't affected you too badly this time."

I pout at my brother. "Sweet snow doesn't affect me that much," I say.

Jason rolls his eyes. "Then what about the time you painted your face and tried to free all the animals in the zoo?"

I whistle innocently and look around me instead of answering. Jason sighs again and I giggle for a fourth time as we resume walking.

"Why do you always call ice cream sweet snow anyway?"

"'Cause it's true! It's snow that's sweet!"

"No, not really."

"Yes it is,"

"No it's not,"

"Yes it is,"

"No it's not,"

"Yes it is...


	7. Chapter 6: Training and sleepless nights

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 6  
_Training and sleepless nights_

* * *

About a half an hour later, Jason and I are finally in the clearing where I fought the demon yesterday. I stand there for moment, looking around, when I suddenly feel something coming towards me. With out a second thought I pull my katana out of my sheath and whip around to face my attacker.

The clang of metal on metal fills the clearing as my blade narrowly stops another katana from beheading me. Forgetting about my attacker for a moment, I stare in shock at my own blade, not quite being able to believe what I just did.

Suddenly breaking out of my shock, my eyes travel up the other person's katana, up their arm and to their face. I am surprised to see the smirking face of my own brother there. My confusion quickly turns into anger as I push my brother off.

"What the hell was that for! " I shout angrily.

"Just checking your reflexes," Jason answers, a grin still on his face. "And from what I just saw, you're going to be pretty good with that blade."

I blink at Jason's compliment and slowly nod. "O... kay..." I say.

Jason nods in a satisfied manner. "Now," he begins. "We'll start with how to hold your katana. You place you hands like this and-" For the next five hours Jason teaches me how block and some basic attacks and stances before he finally says that we will stop for the day and immediately collapse.

"Are you sure it's Bashere trying to kill me and not you?" I wheeze out.

Jason gives me dry look. "That wasn't even hard, just the basics, and need I remind you that Bashere is trying to kill _both_ of us?" he says.

Ignoring the second part of his answer, I continue to whine. "What do you mean not hard!" I say. "I can't even move! And besides, it's already 8 O'clock and I haven't had anything to eat since lunch!"

"Then let's head back," Jason says starts to head out of the clearing.

I glare at my brother's retreating back and mumble, "I would if I could stand."

* * *

That night I lay in bed, thoroughly exhausted, but unable to fall asleep. I didn't know why, I mean it was really late – or early, whichever way you want to look at it – and my muscles were screaming for me to sleep so that they could truly rest. But still, I just couldn't sleep. Maybe it was the shock of everything that has happened to me just in the last two days or something? Well whatever it is, I don't know the answer.

I turn over several more times before I finally sit up in bed. Glancing toward my window I slowly – and tiredly – sing out of bed and tip toe over to my window seat. Sitting down with my head resting against the glass, I look out over the city. Not too far away I can even see the forest that Jason and I had been practicing today.

I close my eyes for a moment and then open them when I feel a warmth on my eyelids. Looking out the window for a second time I can see a full moon shining down on me, it's light like a beacon through the night.

I sigh contentedly and close my eyes again. Before I know it, I am already asleep.

**--_Dream_--**

_Darkness. That's all there is for as far as the eye can see. But why _am_ I floating in darkness? And why can I think unlike in a regular dream?_

"_**That's because this is no ordinary dream**" a voice booms around me. _

"_Who are you?" I ask as I look around wildly, trying to figure out where the voice came from. I am answered by a booming laugh. I shiver at the sound of it. It's so evil sounding, so hollow._

"_**You know my name**" it says._

_I furrow by brow in confusion for a moment before my eyes suddenly widen in fear. "Bashere"_


	8. Chapter 7: A very long day Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 7  
_A Very Long Day - Part 1_

* * *

I shoot up in bed and find myself covered in a cold sweat. I immediately know that it actually had been Bashere in my dream and guess that that means that he's a psychic demon... But why did he enter my dream? And why did he show himself?

Arrrg! I'm so confused! The only thing I have gotten out of this is that Bashere definitely knows where Jason and I are. But I can't tell Jason that; he'd completely freak out.

I sigh and slip off the window seat. It was already 6:00 anyway so I might as well get ready for school. I walk over to my closet, pull some clothes out, and put them on.

I am wearing a black T-shirt that says, "I live in my own little world. It's okay, they know me there." on the front in bold white letters, a pair of baggy black pants, a pair of black fingerless gloves, a black choker with a sapphire pendant, and a pair of shoes (whatever you want them to be).

I sigh as I finish getting dressed and then walk out of my bedroom into the bathroom to finish my daily morning rituals (Me: getting washed, brushing teeth, etc.). As soon as I am done with that, I stumble down the hall and into the kitchen. There, I opened the refrigerator, pulled out some bagels and cream cheese, and started to make breakfast.

I am just sitting down to eat when Jason drowsily drops down into the seat across from me. "Man, I'm so tired," he mumbles.

I sit there, my bagel in hand, glaring at him. "_You're_ tired! I'm the one who you had to carry home yesterday because I didn't even have the energy to twitch!" I snarl.

Jason looks up at me wearily. "Training an idiot is harder than it looks," he says simply.

"Excuse me!" I shriek as I jump up, knocking my chair over in the process. "What the hell do you mean by that!"

"Be careful," Jason says, looking at the downed chair and completely ignoring my outburst. "You don't want to break that."

Jason drowsily stands up and walks back down the hall towards his room. As I continue to stand there, frozen, I can feel my eye twitching. Twitch baby! Twitch! yeah...ahem... anyways, I finally snap out of my state and sit back down to eat.

**

* * *

**

**36 minutes and 17 seconds later... what? I'm bored and feel like skipping... randomly**

I quickly hop down the steps of Jason and I's apartment and saunter down my street to the corner. Once there, I can immediately see Jessica and Chris coming towards me. A small smile on my face, I quickly bounce over to them, stepping in stride with them when I get there.

"Hey!" I chirp to them. They both stare at me strangely as we continue to walk and I just blink at them. "What?"

"You just chirped..." Chris says, that strange look still on his face.

I blink again. "I did?" I question. Still those strange looks. "What!"

"Are you feeling okay?" Jessica finally asks. "'Cause you've been smiling brightly through out this whole... conversation..."

"So..." I answer slowly.

And there's that strange look (or looks rather) again.

"Well for one, you never smile; it's usually a smirk," says Chris.

"And two," Jessica continues. "Even now you're still smiling... please stop... stop... GODDAMNIT! I SAID STOP! IT'S CREEPING ME OUT!"

Now both Chris and I staring in shock at Jessica. She never – and mean never – screams or looses her temper. She just... doesn't...

After a moment of silence – and Chris and I staring – Jessica finally can't take it anymore. "What?" she asks bitterly.

"Nothing," Chris and I chime in unison as we turn our gaze back to the sidewalk in front of us (they haven't stopped walking throughout this whole thing). With that, we continue our way to school in silence.

* * *

I sigh as I set my books down on my desk. This was going to be a long day; I could already feel it. Putting my head down on my books as I sit down, I sigh a second time as I tune out the now droning voice of the teacher. A very _very_ long day.


	9. Chapter 8: A very long day Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 8  
_A Very Long Day - Part 2_

* * *

'_3... 2... 1...FREEDOM!_' I mentally scream as the bell rings and everyone rushes out of the class. I have a large smile on my face as am happy to be out of class. Suddenly my grin falls... that was only second period... GODDAMN IT! THE DAY'S NOT EVEN HALF OVER!

I sigh and slump forward slightly as I walk. I didn't know how right I was when I said it was going to be a long day.

I continue to walk through the somewhat crowed halls, not really paying attention to anything in front of me when I suddenly walk into something and fall back on my ass. I growl – hey, I already was in a bad mood, not to mention I'm still a little sore from yesterday – and glare up at the person in front of me. My glare is cut short though and quickly turned into a look of surprise as I see that the person is none other than Yusuke Urameshi.

"You okay?" Yusuke asks with a sheepish smile as offers his had to pull me up. "I wasn't really watching where I was going."

I give a low chuckle and reach for his hand. "I'm fine; don't worry about it," I say as I am pulled up. Bye-bye floor; it was nice knowing ya. "And I wasn't really watching where I was going either."

"Bad day?"

"Long day,"

"Ah, teachers right?"

"It's school, do I really need to say anything else?"

Yusuke laughs lightly at my reply and then grins. "Come on," he says and without waiting for an answer, grabs my arm and starts pulling me down the hall.

I stumble down the hall with Yusuke half-dragging me. I am about to ask where we are going, when we suddenly stop in front of a door. Pushing it open, he quietly steps into a stairwell before racing up the stairs, once again, half-dragging me behind him. Yusuke stops in front of another door, which he pushes open and then pulls me through after him.

Finally Yusuke lets go of my wrist and lets me stumble forward a few feet as my eyes adjust to the sudden light of the school's rooftop – which is where Yusuke has brought us.

I turn to Yusuke. "I can walk you know," I state dryly.

Yusuke gives another sheepish grin. "Heh heh, sorry about that..." I give him a good-natured smirk to show that there was no harm done and then walk over to the edge of the roof.

I lean against the railing and take in a deep breath of the clear, clean air. It feels wonderful to be up here with the wind in my face and certainly relaxing too.

Suddenly I hear the light rustling of material to my right – thanks to my now heightened wolf hearing for that! – and glance at the source of the noise from the corner of my eye as not to alert Yusuke that I heard anything. What I see is cloaked in the shadows of the building, but there none the less. Staring at the area a little bit harder – and still from the corner of my eye – I am finally able to make out a figure standing there, and that figure is Hiei!

It startles me slightly, but I soon relax again and turn my focus back to the scenery in front of me, Hiei is probably up here with Yusuke. Speaking of Yusuke, I can hear him coming up besides me right now.

It's incredible, really. I only just found out that I was a demon a few days ago, but already I can feel my heightened senses as if they have been that way forever... but then again, I guess they always have been like that of a wolfs; I just wasn't able to use it.

I sigh contentedly, as I look out over the school grounds and feel Yusuke lean against the railing as well. However, I'm already getting bored, and so decide to poke some fun.

"So, Yusuke," I drawl in a casual tone. "What's up with you and Keiko?" I immediately feel Yusuke stiffen next to me and try to hide me grin.

"Well... I... uh... she... we... I mean... we... that is... uh..." Yusuke stutters, his face red as a tomato wait, scratch that, it's as red as a genetically enhanced beet that's been dipped in dye, and colored on, and... Well, you get the point.

This time I am really not able to hide my grin and even have to stifle a laugh – and I swear I heard Hiei chuckle from the shadows... either that or he muttered something about evil chickens... I think I'll go with the first one. Anyways, I grin widely at Yusuke.

"So you do like her, huh?" I ask.

Yusuke goes even redder – if that's even possible – and continues to stutter incoherently. My attention is no longer on him though, for the stairwell door has just opened and Suiichi, Kuwabara, Jessica, Keiko, and Chris walked through. They pause for a moment to stare at Yusuke and I, but that's understandable. I mean it must be quite a sight, with Yusuke deep red and stuttering still and me standing there, grinning like an idiot, I'd pay for a picture of it.

"You...okay?" Chris finally asks.

I give a chuckle and my grin turns back into a smirk. "Fine, just having some fun," I answer.

"Okaaay..." Jessica says with a role of her eyes as all of them come over to the railing.

...Except for Kuwabara that is. The poor dope is still looking back and forth with a confused look on his face; this must be too much for his small brain to handle. It almost makes you feel sorry for the monkey - I mean guy! Guy! - ...almost...

"Why are you guys up here?" I ask after a moment.

"I asked them to come," Yusuke says with a grin – he's finally snapped out of his blushing fit... though I did detect a hint of pink when he glanced a Keiko. "I thought you all might want to come over to my house."

"Why not?" I smirk. "I've got nothing better to do." The others give murmurs of the same type of thing, but Keiko is glaring up at Yusuke.

"Yusuke!" she barks. "You are not skipping school!" Her face has now turned red from anger and it's actually quite interesting to watch. Hey, look! One of her veins is sticking out! And there's another! And another! Ooh, I think she might have just popped that one...

I'm starting to fear for Keiko's health when I notice – to my surprise – that Yusuke has a pleading look on. "Please Keiko," he begs. "It'll be lots of fun!"

For a moment Keiko gets even redder as she seems to be having an internal battle with herself, then she finally sighs. "Alright, alright," she says grudgingly. "But you are coming to school tomorrow!"

"Okay!" Yusuke says with an idiot grin. He then glances at the shadows to my right where a now half-emerged Hiei is leaning against the wall. "Coming?" he asks.

Hiei gives a "Hn," and while I can only just begin to fathom what he mean by that, Yusuke gives a nod and seems to take it as an answer.

"Then let's go!" Yusuke cheers and makes his way towards the stairs with everyone following behind.

* * *

(**A half an hour later at Yusuke's house...or apartment...or whatever it is that he lives in**)

We were all standing in front of the door waiting as Yusuke was just about to unlock his door. However, just as he is about to insert the key, the door flies open and there stands a girl with a popsicle in her mouth.

The girl had shoulder length brown hair and large, innocent gray eyes that had a hint of gold in them. My first thought was that she was pretty nondescript, but then I noticed at certain fire in her eyes, a determination, the same fire that is in Yusuke's.

Upon seeing the girl in the doorway, Yusuke jerks back. "Kiara?" he asks questioningly, then his surprised look turns into a scowl. "You're supposed to be at school!"

"Uh-huh," Kiara says with a roll of her eyes. "And that's why you're standing here with a group of people behind you while _your_ school is still in session, right?"

Yusuke glares at the girl. "Move Kiara," he growls. Kiara complies with another roll of her eyes.

Yusuke smirks slightly and walks into his house, motioning for us to follow. Kiara is already in the small living room, sitting on the floor. She is staring straight at me.

"Who are they?" she asks Yusuke.

"Huh? Oh, this is Kristy, Jessica, and Chris. You already know everyone else," Yusuke answers then turns to Jessie, Chris and I. "Guys, this is my little sister, Kiara."

"I'm not little," Kiara pouts. And that's pretty true; she looks to be around 13 and is only about 6 inches shorter than Yusuke. That means that to me she is pretty tall...but then again, nearly everyone is taller than I am. Hell, even Hiei is taller than I am!

Actually, Hiei is around my height; it's just his spiky hair that makes him seem taller than that. Speaking of his hair, how did Hiei get it up like that? I mean, it looks like he stuck his finger in an electrical outlet to get it to stand up like that. In fact, I'm surprised he doesn't have sparks flying around him right now.

As I'm musing over this, "Sparky" sees me watching him and turns to glare at me. I blink at first, surprised at his unwavering gaze, then get annoyed that he's not stopping and so meet his glare with a deadly one of my own.

As we stand there glaring at each other, I can almost swear that there are sparks going between our glares... but maybe that's just some left over electricity from Sparky.

"Hello, anybody home?" Jessica calls, waving her hand in between Hiei and I and breaking our glare.

"What?" I growl out at Jessica.

"Hn," Hiei grunts and stalks over to the window seat to seat down.

I narrow my eyes at Hiei as he walks. I wanted that seat! Suddenly, I smirk mentally, realizing that this is going to be a very interesting afternoon.


	10. Chapter 9: Window seats, sluts, and dem

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 9  
_Window Seats, Sluts, and Demons_

* * *

Casually I saunter over to the window seat that Hiei is sitting on. Then, I swiftly pull Hiei off the seat and onto the floor and sit on the window seat myself. Everyone else in the room stops what they are doing to stare. A few people (_cough_Yusuke&Suiichi_cough_) even have the color drained from their faces.

Hiei just sits on the floor for a moment, a shocked look on his face. I can't help but let a smirk tug at the corner of my mouth; it is quite funny after all.

Finally, Hiei seems to snap out of his shocked state and he quickly jumps up, a deadly glare in place. "Get out of my seat," he growls.

I turn my head to him, this time keeping my face expressionless. "Why?" I ask.

Hiei growls again. "Because I said so," he says, his glare worsening.

"And I care because?" I ask, adding a bored tone to my voice.

Hiei gives me another growl before suddenly pushing me out of the seat and then sitting down again.

I blink up at him from were I landed on the floor. This wasn't exactly what I had expected. However, now I am getting slightly annoyed, as I really just wanted to sit down. And so, I quickly stand up and once again pull Hiei from the seat.

Hiei looks almost as surprised as he had the first time, and I'm guessing that he didn't expect for me to do that a second time. Standing up again – although faster this time – he glares at me and grips the hilt of his katana... Wait, back up! Katana! Where'd that come from! ...I guess it has been there for a little while and I just haven't noticed it; he probably put it on after school.

But that still doesn't answer the question of why Hiei is wearing it. Oh well, he probably just has some time of obsession with pointy objects. Ah, reminds me of when I was little.

I must have drifted of in my thoughts for abruptly I realize that Hiei is still glaring at me with his hand on the hilt of his katana. It is then that Sparky and I suddenly hear giggling behind us.

Blinking, we both turns towards the sound. We then realize that everyone else in the room is watching us and trying not to laugh. Hiei gives them all death glares, the grip on the hilt of his katana tightening, while my eyes narrow and my glare sharpens as a growl surfaces in my throat.

Jessica – who had been trying the hardest not to laugh – hears this and immediately stops laughing and looks at me. Seeing the look on face, her eyes widen slightly in fear as she realizes (Me: I've used that word way to much in that last few paragraphs) just how pissed off I'm getting.

"N-n-now, now-w K-kris-sty," Jessica stutters. "Th-there's n-no-o re-reas-on-n for you t-to get u-up-set-t-t." She gulps.

Chris looks strangely at Jessica for a moment, but then looks at me and gets a fearful look as well. "C-com-me on-n Krist-sty. W-we were o-only-ly fo-fool-l-ling ar-round-d," he stutters out.

Now everyone in the room has stop laughing and is staring at Jessica and Chris confusedly.

"Back away slowly," Jessica whispers to everyone as she and Chris start to do just that.

Everyone continues to stare at them.

"...Are you two okay?" Yusuke finally asks.

Jessica casts a quick glance at me before hissing to Yusuke, "If you value you life, I suggest you start backing up!"

Yusuke snorts and glances at me, but gives at start when he sees that I have jumped off the window seat and am slowly stalking towards them... like a predator would stalk towards its prey... or rather, like a wolf would. But shhhh! They don't know that!

Yusuke's eyes widen and without a second thought he turns on his heel and races down the hall (Me: I say that Yusuke's house has a hall, so it has hall!) I tear off after him; after all, he had been the only one who had been outright laughing.

I find Yusuke at the end of the hallway, jiggling the handle of a door – that seems to be locked – but unable to get in. He's trapped. I start to once again slowly stalk towards him, when I suddenly step on a creaky floorboard. Yusuke quickly whips around and his face drains of all color as he sees me standing there with a feral grin on my face.

"Hello Yusuke," I coo.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

(**1 Week Later**)

It had been a week since the ...incident... at Yusuke's an already we – that's Jessica, Chris, Suiichi, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Hiei, Kiara, and I – had become fast friends. We spent time at each other's houses all the time.

Besides that, I had also been training with Jason everyday. It was hard balancing training, school, and friends, but somehow I was able to manage it without making anyone even slightly suspicious.

Also, I've had tons of fun torturing Hiei. He's so easy to tease because he lets his ego get in the way! ...But of course I'm not one to talk, especially since he tortures me back.

Now it's Monday (Me: So more than a week has passed... but I don't really feel like having to figure out exactly when Yusuke and peoples came and how long it's been) and all of us – except for Kiara since she is in Jr. High School – have just reached the school.

Quickly walking inside, we go our separate ways and go to our lockers. A few minutes later though, I meet up with Suiichi and Keiko again, as we have History class together.

"I can't believe that you've already got a fan club Suiichi," Keiko sighs.

I glance around and find that she is indeed right; practically every girl in school is sighing over and/or drooling over Suiichi as he walks by. What gets me however, is the "already" part of what Keiko said. And so, naturally, I ask about this. Keiko giggles slightly and Suiichi blushes.

"Well," Keiko starts. "At his last school, every girl liked him as well and there was even an official fan club." She giggles again.

I smirk as well – and even more when Suiichi's blush deeps – but am about to ask what Keiko meant by "_his_ last school" when we all suddenly halt.

Standing in front of us is just about the sluttiest girl in existence... Marisa, a.k.a. Slut #1.

Marisa has shoulder length platinum blonde hair that is so straight and shiny that I can almost smell all of the hair products that she must have to use to get her hair that way. She also has baby blue eyes and stands about as tall as Suiichi and so was much taller than me. The really disgusting thing about Marisa is the way that she dresses

Marisa has on a _short_ mini skirt – although it could be a belt; even after all these years, I'm still not entirely sure – and a very tight low-neckline belly T-shirt. And did I mention the make-up? Well, that's hard to miss seeing as you can't even really see her face under it. Maybe she has blue-skin or something, but who would know since I don't think that anyone has ever seen her actual face.

But you know what the really horrible thing about Marisa is that her appearance isn't even the worst part of her. How is that possible you ask? Only one thing: the shrieking. That's right, she's one of those people with that high-pitched voice that shrieks and screeches. Oh, how I despise her fake, sugary, screech.

"Suiichi!" she shrieks. "I've been looking _all_ over for you!" I flinch slightly at her voice.

Suiichi looks slightly annoyed, but he quickly covers it up with a polite smile. "For what reason Marisa?" he asks.

Marisa gives a disgusting sugary plastic smile that makes me want to gag. "To walk with you of course, Suiichi _darling_," she answers. I think my eardrums are about to burst from the screeching, so I quickly step in, hoping to be able to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Sorry Marisa," I say in a fake sweet voice. "But your 'Suiichi darling' is already taken."

Marisa gives me a disgusted look and says, "By who? You?" She laugh at that, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

I laugh along with her – which thoroughly freaks her out – before giving her an amused look. "Sorry," I answer. "But I don't like pretty boys. No offense Red." I glance at Suiichi on the last part. He just shrugs lightly, signaling that there was no offense taken, a small smile on his face. He certainly seems to think this whole situation is funny.

"How dare you!" Marisa shrieks. "You can't insult Suiichi!"

"That's nice," I drawl in a bored tone. On the inside however, I'm really starting to get annoyed by this whole thing and decide that I'm going to end this. "Now if you'll excuse me," I lightly poke Marisa's shoulder and blink for a moment when she topples backwards with a screech.

I continue to stare at her for a moment, before bursting out in laughter. I was only poking her slightly to get the point across that I was leaving; I hadn't expected her to fall!

While laughing I glance to the people on either side of me. Keiko has a hand covering her mouth and looks like she's trying not to laugh, but is failing horribly. Suiichi on the other hand, was biting his thumb to keep from laughing and was actually doing a pretty good job; but he's probably trying a little harder than Keiko not to laugh.

Thinking that this would be a god time to get going, I quickly step around a still-flailing Marisa with Keiko and Suiichi following me.

* * *

After school it is just Jessica, Chris and I walking home as Yusuke, Suiichi, Hiei, Keiko, and Kuwabara had to leave for some reason. Deciding to walk through the woods instead of our usual path down the street, we make a turn and enter the dense trees (Me: Yes, this is the same forest that Kristy and Jason train in, so it's very dense trees).

We've been walking for a few minutes, just talking and laughing about random things – namely my incident with Marisa – when I suddenly start getting a very odd feeling. And odd doesn't really even begin to describe it. It's almost like de ja vu, and yet at the same time this deep sense of foreboding and... fear? I'm not quite sure how to describe it. What I do know is that the feeling sent shivers down my spine and at the same time made me what to retch and run away.

Trying to shove the feeling away, I cast a quick glance at Jessica and Chris and notice them exchanging wary glances. What the hell! Maybe it's a feeling that all people get as they walk through this part of the forest... but that makes absolutely no sense.

We all just continue walking anyway; I mean, it's probably nothing...

And of course that's when a tall figure drops down in front of Jessica Chris, and I.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" a male voice growls out scratchily. He then steps out of the shadow of the trees and into the light where we can finally see him. Jessie and Chris gasp audibly and I mentally curse.

The owner of the voice is a tall lean demon, at least 7 feet tall, with golden-green skin. He also has a single horn protruding from his forehead, sharp nails, long lime-green colored hair, and black eyes. However, other than that actually he has a basically human figure.

The demon smirks evilly and points a clawed finger at us. "Bye bye," he says.

Before I can even react a green light gathers at the tip of his finger and comes blast at me. I only have time to think 'Oh shit,' as I go flying through the air before I slam into a tree trunk and everything goes black.

The strange thing though is that I'm not unconscious. I can feel the pain, I can feel myself breathing, I can hear shouts in the background, but I can't move.

And so I lay there for a few moments, struggling to move. My friends are in danger; I have to help them. I have to move.

Suddenly I feel my finger twitch. Focusing all of my energy on that finger I try as hard as I can until I suddenly can move my whole hand. Experimentally, I try to open my eyes and find that I now can. Blinking, I look around.

However, the sight that meets my eyes is far from what I had expected. My mouth hangs agape, "No fucken way,"


	11. Chapter 10: Rhurac and the truth reveale

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

(1) - Kitsune means fox.  
(2) - Baka means idiot or fool.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 10  
_Rhurac and Truth Revealed_

* * *

Standing there was Jessica and Chris, but that's not why I was gaping; it was how they looked that was shocking me.

Chris now has spiky ice blue hair, and from where I was... laying... I could see that his eyes had turned an ice blue color as well. Also, in his hand he appeared to be holding a spear made of ice.

Jessica also looks quite different. She now has vibrant green hair and violet eyes. Also, her outfit has changed and she is now wearing a type of bikini that is sky blue. The top part of it simply ties in the back – with no shoulder straps and the bottom part has large rubies on either side. Finally, she has a piece of golden jewelry encircling her upper right arm. Oh, and can't forget the large majestic angel wings protruding from her back... WAIT, ANGEL WINGS! I shake my head lightly then, knowing that something like that shouldn't shock me so much, and turn back to the matter at hand. (Me: If you want to see a picture of what Jessica looks like in her demon form, go to my profile - I've got links to pics of all the characters there!)

- Oh, and the last thing that I notice about my two friends is that they both have powerful auras surrounding them. -

Anyways, the two of them are facing away from me and are in battle stances as they confront the demon that attacked me.

"Heh heh heh, this certainly is a surprise," the demon cackles, an evil smirk still in place. My friends tense up even more.

It is then that I feel my energy start to rise as my thoughts darken.

The demon attacked me.

That demon is an evil being.

That demon is threatening my friends.

I suddenly feel that familiar warmth envelope me and my demon energy unfurl. Standing up I know that I am now in my demon form and ignore the shocked faces of my two best friends as they look back at me as I start to menacingly stalk towards the green-skinned demon.

"Who the hell are you and what the fuck to you want?" I manage to growl out through gritted teeth as I try to keep my fury – no, not fury, rage – under control. And the cursing isn't my problem; my language tends to fly out of control when I get really mad.

The demon gives rough laugh. "I am Rhurac, humble servant of Bashere," he answers.

I feel my body tense at the mention of Bashere. However, it seems fit that he would send someone after Jason and I after such a long lull.

As these thoughts sift through my head, I wordlessly growl at Rhurac. This is not a good, not good at all.

"What do you want?" I say to Rhurac, repeating my earlier question.

Rhurac continues smirking a completely ignores my question. "This is another surprise though," he says as he looks over my demon form. I just growl at him again as he finally meets my gaze. "But it still is no obstacle in my path.

Suddenly Rhurac, Jessica, Chris (Me: Those two – Jess and Chris – had been standing just behind you, watching... or rather they had been gaping at you), and I all snap our heads in the direction of the path, where we can all feel a strong power heading our way.

The source of that great power turns out to be my brother Jason, who is running along the path towards us. As soon as Rhurac sees Jason, his face sets into a frown and a small growl escapes his throat. However, he quickly turns his face back into that evil smirk as he turns back to me.

"This isn't over," he says, his smirk widening ever so slightly. "I'll be seeing you real soon." Rhurac gives a quick bark of a laugh and a dark energy starts to surround him. But just before he disappears completely, he gives me one final smirk. "Oh, and I hope you enjoyed my poison blast." With that, he continues cackling evilly and the dark energy swallows him completely and then dissipates into nothingness.

'_Poison blast? That must have been that green energy that hit me earlier,_' I think. The 'poison' part of it made slightly uneasy and I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, but I quickly shrug it off.

Just then, Jason finally reaches us. It is then that I also realize that he looks different. His hair is now a silvery-purple with black tips instead of its usual ebony color and his eyes are silver with black flecks in them. Besides that, he has a powerful demonic aura around him. I abruptly realize that this must be his demon form. Interesting...cool.

As Jason reaches us, he simply stares at Jessica and Chris. I can't help but to turn and stare at them too; this is just too weird. Both Jason and I find that Chris and Jessica are staring at us with the same confused and shocked faces that we are probably giving them.

"How?" we all start to say at the same time. Then we stop and just continue to stare

I am about to break the silence and say something, when I suddenly start to feel very woozy.

'_What the hell?_' I think. Then that nagging feeling in the back of my mind suddenly comes forward. '_The poison blast must have poisoned me! ...Shit_'

And with that, the darkness takes me.

* * *

(**Spirit World, Prince Koenma's Office**) (**No One's POV**)

"What now binky breath!" Yusuke Urameshi yells to a toddler sitting in a large swivel chair. "You just sent us out to catch a demon roaming around our city and now you call us back again!"

Koenma, the toddler, gives Yusuke an exasperated look, but is happy to see that no one else was harassing him. He wouldn't expect Kurama to of course. The kitsune(1) was to polite to even think of something like that. Hiei wouldn't really either for two reasons. One, he never really spoke to anyone unless it was an insult. And two, he was on parole and so had to be careful no matter how much ne didn't want to. Finally there was Kuwabara... well, no much can be said there because the baka(2) probably didn't have enough brain cells to yell. And Koenma wasn't really one for insults; it's just that sometimes the truth cannot be overlooked.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand and the yelling Spirit Detective.

"I called you back here because we already found the demon," Koenma says in an annoyed tone. Yusuke gives him a slightly dumbfounded look, but the little Spirit World ruler simply ignores him and continues. "We picked up his energy signal in a park not to far away from your present school as he created a portal back to the Makai."

Yusuke continues to stand there and blink at Koenma. "If the demon is already back in the demon world..." he begins slowly. "Then why the hell have you called us back here! You could have just told us over the communicator to go home!"

Koenma sighs again. "I called you here because this the demon was in the forest with four other powerful energy signals," he answers.

This catches Kurama's attention. "So now we have five unidentified and unauthorized energies that have entered the ningenkai?" he asks.

"Yes," Koenma nods. "And all of them are full-blooded demons too."

"But they can't really hurt any humans if they're back in the Makai, right?" Yusuke says.

"Only the first demon left," Koenma answers, the annoyed tone entering his voice again. "The other four are still somewhere in your city. But somehow they all are able to disguise their demon energies."

"So that means that they could be anyone," Kurama asks sullenly.

Koenma nods soberly. "Yes," he answers. "We have four unknown and very powerful demons running around the ningenkai and a fifth that can create portals to and from the Makai."

"...Damn"

* * *

(**Ningenkai, Jason and Kristy's apartment**) (**Kristy's POV**)

Slowly I blink my eyes open and am met by blurred visions of what seem to be people. Then, as if breaking through the surface of water, all sound hits me.

"Is she okay?"

"She's waking up!"

"Kris, can you hear me!"

"What the hell happened?" I say groggily as I sit up and glance at Jason, Chris, and Jessica, all of whom were gathered around me on the couch in mine and Jason's apartment.

"Yup, she's fine,"

I glare at Chris, who had been the speaker of the last comment, but he only grins whole heartily.

With a sigh I turn to my brother and repeat my question. "What happened?" I ask.

"The blast that that Ruscar freak hit you with temporarily poisoned and paralyzed you system," Jason answers. "But don't worry, you should be fine now."

I nod, still slightly in a daze, then suddenly blink, and turn to my two best friends. "And what is up with you?"

"Uh, heh heh," Jessica laughs slightly as she sweatdrops and Chris rubs that back of his head nervously.

Jason sighs and then says, "I spoke with for the hour that you were unconscious and-"

"What! I was out for a whole hour!"

"-it turns out that they both are demons as well."

"Yup!" Chris say, a grin now on his face. "I'm an ice demon!"

I grin back at him and then turn to Jessica. "How about you?" I ask.

Jessica gives a light smile. "I'm half physic demon and half angel," she answers. I hear Jason gasp slightly, but my grins just widens.

"Really! That's so cool!" I say. "I'm 1/4 psychic demon, 1/4 fire demon, 1/4 darkness demon, and 1/4 wolf demon. Jay here is half wind and half psychic."

Chris pouts slightly. "That's not fair," he says. "I'm the only one here who has no psychic demon blood... in fact I'm the only one here who is pure blooded!" He seems somewhat surprised at this and I just give him a confused look. Jason decides to explain to me.

"In the Makai, mixed blood is looked down upon," he explains. "It's actually quite rare for a demon to have several types of demon blood in them."

I nod in understanding and turn back to my two friends. "But why are you here?" I ask them. "I mean I'm sure that Jason explained to you what happened to our parents, but why are you two in the ningenkai?"

Jessica sighs. "I've been in the ningenkai all my life," she says. "You see, I never met my parents – and please don't be sympathetic towards me – but was adopted by the Calans and they have brought me up. However, they have no idea of what I am."

"My story is a little different," Chris says as soon as she's done. "As you already know, my mother died giving birth to me and I now live with my father. The part you don't know is that my family comes from a tribe of ice demons and they believe that when a mother dies during the birth, the child is considered a curse and must be killed right away. However, my father didn't want be to be killed and knew that my mother wouldn't have wanted me to die either, so he stole off with me in the middle of the night to the ningenkai." Chris sighs. "We've been living here ever since."

I nod in understanding and then a thought suddenly pops into my head. "You two knew about each other, didn't you? That you were both demons I mean," I say.

Jessica grins and Chris flashes a smirk. "Yep," Chris answers. "It was an accident actually; one that happened about... 5 years ago or something."

Jessica giggles. "I was in my demon form, just wanting to stretch my wings a bit," she says.

"And I was able to sense her demon energy and so decided to check it out and see who it was. Well, imagine my surprise when I see Jessica."

"His face was just priceless,"

"And that led us to a whole discussion on what had happened to us and why we were in the ningenkai. And...well, yeah."

I nod with a small smirk on my face, thinking how ironic this all is.

"There's just one thing I'm interested in," Jason suddenly says. "How are you able to hide your demonic energy?"

"I can hide it because of my angel blood," Jessica answers first. "I'm not sure how it works, but somehow that, along with the fact that I can control my energy level to lower it to that of a humans, makes me seem like I am 100 human."

Chris shrugs. "I too can control my energy levels," he says. "And my dad taught me how to hide my demonic energy." He then looks at Jason. "How about you? How come we never knew that you were a demon?"

"Well," Jason answers. "Since both Kristy and I were born in the ningenkai that somehow cancels out our demonic energy."

Upon seeing the confused looks that he was getting from Jessica, Chris, and even me, Jason sighs.

"What that means is that being born here automatically gives us the ability to hide our demonic energy. Well, that is unless we are in our demon forms of course," Jason explains.

"Oh," comes the reply from all three of us.

Silence follows for a few minutes as no one can think of anything to say.

"Well," Jason finally says as he stands up. "You three have school tomorrow."

"...Jay, you just sounded way to old for comfort,"


	12. Chapter 11: Sparring and unexpected peop

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

(1) - Kuso is Japanese for damn

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 11  
_Sparring and Unexpected People_

* * *

(**One Week Later**)

The clash of steel on steel filled up the somewhat large clearing in the forest. To give you a better view of what I mean, I'll explain: Chris and I are sparring in the middle of the clearing.

We are both using katanas because we can't risk changing into our demon forms. Or at least that's what Jason says.

Personally, I don't see who could be around to feel our energies. I suppose Bashere or one of his goons could sense it, but they already know where we are. Oh well though, I guess it doesn't really hurt to take precautions... but I still don't really see a reason for it.

These sparring sessions – or training session rather – have been an almost daily occurrence for the four of us. They happen because Jessica and Chris, now knowing about Bashere, want to help Jason and I and refuse to be persuaded other wise.

Jason finally just gave up trying to tell them that it was too dangerous and decided that they might at least be a large help in training me.

And so here I am now with Chris, our katanas – which he turned out to be actually quite skilled in handling – clashing constantly, almost to the point that they were creating sparks. This had been going on for quite a while now, and both of us are breathing heavily and are covered in sweat. Despite this however, neither of us are going to give into the other.

Finally, Jason stands up, sighing. "That's enough you two," he says. "If you keep going on like this you're both going to pass out." And after a moment of though, "And I don't want to have to carry you home Kristy... again."

I pause in my battle with Chris to glare at my older brother. Sometimes he can be such an annoying bastard.

However, the moment I pause, Chris uses to his advantage and immediately lunges at me.

"Kuso**(1)**!" I swear as I stumble after barely being able to dodge out of the way of Chris' blade in time. Glancing down at my arm, I see that I did receive a small cut on my arm, but is very shallow and doesn't hurt at all so I simply ignore it.

I am about to attack again when I hear a voice.

"I SAID STOP!" Jason yells. Both Chris and I do just that, slowly turning to him with alarmed looks on our faces. Even Jessica is looking up at Jason (She's sitting down, he's standing up) with a surprised look on her face.

Jason however ignores our looks and smirks lightly. "Good," he says. "As I was saying, this is enough for today as you two are thoroughly exhausted and it's also getting pretty late."

I glance up at the sky and sure enough, the sun looks like it's about to set. I sigh and sheathe my now-beloved katana before stalking past Jason and towards the direction of the forest path. I stop however, when I realize that my brother and two best friends are not following me.

Raising an eyebrow, I turn back to them. "Coming," I ask with a dry tone.

"Or are you just going to stand there and continue watching the grass grow?"

That of course makes them hurry after me quickly and we all start out of the forest.

* * *

(**The Next Day**)

The morning starts off like it usually does and today I'm wearing my usual attire, only now with a shirt that says, "School prepares you for the real world, which also sucks" on it. Of course I also had on my black choker with it's sapphire pendant.

I wore the thing every day, mainly because it was something that my mother gave to me when I was and is the last thing of my parents that I have left... Also, it's a very beautiful piece. It's shaped like a teardrop, or a raindrop you could say, they're basically the same, and is gorgeous because it seems to have an endless depth to it, as if the pendant contained an entire lake.

But back to the point, I say a quick good-bye to my brother as I dash out the door and down the steps in a hurry. I had woken up late and was worried that I was going to be late.

No, not worried about being late for school of course – couldn't care less whether or not I was at school on time... or whether I was there at all – but I didn't want to miss my friends as they walked by my street.

I slow down as I see that they are only just getting to where my street is, and am quite surprised when I see that Yusuke, Suiichi, Kuwabara, Hiei, Keiko, and even Kiara are there as well.

"Good morning Miss Walker," Suiichi says politely when he sees me walking up.

"Umm... hey," I say, still blinking as I look around at everyone, trying to figure out why they are with Jessie and Chris this morning.


	13. Chapter 12: Secrets and a faceless girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 12  
_Secrets and a Faceless Girl_

* * *

We all immediately begin walking again, with me still looking around at everyone, confused.

"You okay?" Kiara asks coming up to me.

"...Yeah..." I begin. "But why is everyone here?"

Kiara blinks for a moment. "...We're walking to school..." she answers slowly.

I mock glare at her and decide to poke a little fun. "But what about you?" I start. "You go to different school." Kiara starts to answer, but I just plow on. "And how about Yusuke and Kuwabara? They rarely ever make first period since they're always to late – although I can understand that; the only reason that I even go to school at all is because my brother makes me – and how about Kurama? He is always at school _way_ before us. And what about Hiei? I never ever see him except in class!

"So why! Why are you all here!" I conclude, finally realizing that in my morning tiredness I had begun rambling. I also realize that everyone has stopped walking and is now starring at me. "What?"

At that Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Chris begin howling with laughter. Not that I can blame them; my idiotic rambling must have sounded pretty strange, even to someone like Kuwabara.

Jessica on the other hand, just shakes her head with a light smile on her face. "Still not fully awake yet, are you?" she asks me.

I simply smirk at her; she knows me so well... almost too well. My smirk quickly turns into a serious face though.

"Why _are_ you all here though?" I ask everyone in general – Jessica and Chris excluded.

Everyone else's (Once again, that excludes Jessie and Chris) faces fall serious as well. I see Suiichi and Keiko exchange worried looks, and I wonder exactly what this could be about.

"Nothing really," Yusuke answers me with a slightly nervous laugh. "We just though we'd walk you three to school. I mean you never know what kind of weirdoes are out at this time of night..."

Chris sweatdrops. "It's morning Yusuke," he says dryly.

Yusuke laughs nervously again. "Right..." he says. "But still, you never can be too careful."

I narrow my eyes at Yusuke; he's hiding something, they all are. But what could it possibly be?

"You've never been too worried about 'weirdoes' before," I say in a guarded tone.

For a third time, Yusuke laughs nervously... damn that's starting to get on my nerves! ...Umm... back to the point...

"Umm... Hey! Look!" Yusuke suddenly exclaims. "We're already at school! Can you believe how the time flies? Well, I better get to my locker; don't want to be late you know!"

With that, he hurries through the school doors and down the hall. The others (Me: Still excluding Chris and Jessica, and from now on that is what the "others" will me) briskly walk in after him, leaving Chris, Jessica, and I to stand there. Jessie and Chris both just shrug and make their way to the door.

I however, just continue to stand there and stare at the doors. Now I know that Yusuke and the others are definitely hiding something and I'm determined to find out.

"Are you waiting for the door to open or something?" Chris suddenly says, breaking me out of my thoughts. I jerk slightly and abruptly realize that I have been just standing in front of the school door, staring at it. I give a nervous laugh and walk inside, following Jessie and Chris down the hall.

* * *

"Miss Walker!" the teacher snaps suddenly, smacking my desk with her ruler. "Pay attention!" With that she turns around, stalks back towards the chalkboard, and continues her speech about ancient battles.

I glare at her back as she walks. I can positively say that I hat Mrs. Schubert. She's my history teacher and a cranky old lady. And "old lady" fits her perfectly seeing as she has to be at least 60, has short – and I mean _short_ - gray hair, and is... overweight... to put it politely... and to put in my own words, she's a fat ass bitch who I swear used to be in the military.

I continue to glare at her as she speaks. So what if my mind had been wandering! I was thinking about Yusuke and the others. Besides, when in my life am I ever going to need to know the fact that General Yamagata was able to stop a snake from killing him by putting ice on it? And why did he even get the idea to put ice on it in the first place? (Me: Note that Yamagata and the snake thing was completely made up by me and never actually happened... I know nothing of Japanese history)

Suddenly I realize I can hear sniggering off to my side. I turn in the direction of the sound and start to glare when I see Yusuke and Kuwabara quietly laughing at me.

"What. The. Hell. Is. Your. Problem?" I force out through gritted teeth.

Both Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately stop laughing as they see that I'm really not in the mood right now.

"Uh..." Kuwabara starts, looking at a loss for words as always.

"Nothing, nothing," Yusuke covers up quickly, though a small smile can still be seen tugging at the corners of his mouth.

I grumble slightly, but turn away from the two nonetheless and glance down at the notebook in front of me. It's my drawing notebook and at the moment is turned to a sketch that I only just recently finished. In fact, the sketch actually happens to be from a dream that I have been having a lot lately...

The sketch is of a faceless girl who is running through the woods with hulking shadows behind her. It is those shadows, the monsters, that she is running from. Also, the direction she is running towards seems to be a beautiful fantasy paradise, but it seems to be distorted and warped somehow, as if it's only a mirage.

I have no idea why I keep having this dream or what it means, if anything, but I decided to draw it anyway. It has been on my mind a lot and is just another thing to add to the pile of things that are bugging my mind at the moment... Man, I really need to hit something right now.


	14. Chapter 13: Keiko, movies, and surprises

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 13  
_Keiko, Movies, and Surprises_

* * *

I sigh and stretch my muscles as all of my friends, including Kiara, and I walk Suiichi's house to watch a movie. We did this type of thing quite often, hanging out I mean. We would go over to each other's houses or to a nearby park and in fact met up with each other nearly every day.

The relationship between the nine of us was actually quite interesting. We had known each other for not very long, and yet, for me at least, it felt like I had known Yusuke and his friends and sister for all of my life. We all just fit in together really well.

"Hey Kristy," Keiko suddenly says, brining me out of my thoughts. "I thought that you got a detention today?"

"Yeah," I answer in a bored tone.

"Then why aren't you in school?" asks Keiko.

I raise an eyebrow slightly as I look over to her. "...Is there some reason that I should be?" I ask.

"Yes!" Keiko says with a small glare. "If you have a detention - which you shouldn't have even gotten in the first place - then you must serve it out!"

I blink slightly and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Mother hen," I mumble.

However, this only makes Keiko's glare grow as she abruptly stops in the middle of the sidewalk, therefore forcing everyone else - me included - to stop and stare at the two of us.

"Kristina Walker!" she shouts, making me flinch at the use of my full name. "You are going to march straight back to school and serve out your detention this instant!"

I have to withhold a small giggle as she sounds so much like a mother, but it quickly dies in my throat anyway as I realize that this really isn't the time for a joke. However, Keiko must have caught the beginnings of my smirk, as she suddenly seems to get even angrier.

"You think this is funny!" she screams now hovering above me with anime veins and with a large roaring fire surrounding her.

"Uhh..." I stutter slightly. Even after facing demons, this is probably the scariest sight I've seen or will ever see. "Well, I..."

"Move your but now and get to your detention!" Keiko shrieks.

I nod my head vigorously and take off down the sidewalk. However, instead of continuing on my way to the school building, I stop just around the corner.

Catching my breathe slightly from the horror I had just faced, I peak around the building I'm hiding behind and see that the group had continued on walking, but everyone was now at least several feet from Keiko.

Oh well, I shrug slightly and decide to take another way to Suiihci's house... What? Did you seriously think I was going to go back and a serve out a stupid detention when I never have before? Ch, don't make me laugh.

* * *

About ten or so minutes later, I finally arrive at Suiichi's house. I know that everyone is already inside, but also know that I certainly can't knock on the door because Keiko will have my ass.

Oh well, there are always plenty of other ways to get into a house.

Thinking of which of those ways I could use at this moment I notice that the large tree in Suiichi's front lawn has a branch that is right next to a window. I grin widely; this is just too easy.

Without a second thought, I leap into the tree and then quickly climb up several branches until I am at the one near the window. I also notice that it was very easy for me to climb the tree. Hmm... must be my demon blood or something.

Anyways, I quickly pry the window open and jump inside.

I land in the middle of perhaps the cleanest room I have ever seen. It has a red, gold, and silver color scheme, has books all over - but still stacked orderly -, and, strangely, smells like roses.

I'm just beginning to wonder whose room this could possible be when I see a picture of Suiichi, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Keiko, and some blue-haired girl on the desk.

_'Suiichi's room!_' I think in surprise. _'This is Suiichi's room!_' However, I just shake my head and make my way towards the door; I really don't have time to think about things like this right now.

Upon opening Suiichi's bedroom door, I stick my head out into the hallway and glance about. Thankfully, I can neither smell nor hear (Me: She's part wolf demon, remember?) anyone on this floor, so I quietly make me way towards the stairs.

As I stand at the top of the stairs, looking down, I can hear the voices from the movie quite clearly... Well, that's not really that surprising seeing as I can see everyone strewn out across the couch and the chairs as well as the TV itself from where I am... Anyways, I see that everyone is preoccupied with the movie and so start to move.

I quickly jump down the stairs and creep my way towards everyone. There, I silently plop myself down in the only available armchair left and start to watch the movie with everyone else.

* * *

"All right, we'll see you tomorrow!" Jessica says as she Keiko and Chris walk through Suiichi's front door after the movie ended.

I'm now left with Yusuke, Suiichi, Kuwabara, and Hiei in the living room, but it seems that no one has even noticed me yet.

"Well," Yusuke says with a sigh as he sits back down on the couch. "I suppose we should call Koenma now."

I blink, not recognizing the name. "Who?" I ask.

At the sound of my voice, everyone jumps slightly and Yusuke leaps out of the seat he had been occupying, screaming, "GAH!"

I blink again, slightly surprised at their reaction. Surely someone, Hiei at the very least, should have noticed me by now.

* * *

(**The Spirit Detectives POV**)

"Well," Yusuke says with a sigh as he sits back down on the couch. "I suppose we should call Koenma now."

"Who?" a voice asks from one of the armchairs.

Everyone jumps, and Yusuke leaps up at the sound of the voice and the four heads snap towards the voice and fall into shock.

The girl occupying the chair blinks, while Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama continue to just stand there and stare.

How did she get there! And more importantly, how did she get there without anyone noticing her energy? It just didn't seem possible with how high their guard was at the moment.

"Umm..." Kurama says as the four of them come out of their shocked state.

"Who is Koenma?" Kristy asks again.

"Uhh..." Yusuke starts. "He's umm... a friend of ours...Yeah! That's it! He's a friend of ours!"

Kristy stares at Yusuke strangely for a moment and then just shrugs "Whatever," she shrugs and then stands up stretching. "That was a good movie Suiichi, we should all do this again sometime." And with that she saunters over to the front door, pulls it open, and walks out call "See ya," over her shoulder.

The Spirit Detectives just continue to stare at the spot she had been sitting in just moments before.

Had she been there the whole time!

_POOF_! In a cloud of smoke, the little floating toddler appears not a second after Kristy had shut the door.

Yusuke jumps nearly a foot in the air again and stands there, glaring at the pint-sized ruler holding his hands over his heart.

"Jeez!" Yusuke screams. "Is _everyone_ trying to give me a heart attack!"

Koenma just ignores the gel-haired boy though, and turns to the rest of the team. "I have a new mission for you," he announces.

Kuwabara looks at him in confusion. "But I thought we were already on a mission," he says. "I though we were supposed to be finding those demons that are in the human world?"

"Hn, you can think?" Hiei smirks. "That's got to be some kind of miracle."

Kuwabara's face turns red with anger and he yells, "Why I oughta-"

"Stop it! I SAID STOP IT!" Koenma interrupts, stopping the two fighting teens (Me: Well, actually Hiei is several hundred years old, but he still _looks_ like a teen since he's a demon). He then glares at the two for an extra measure before resuming what he had been saying. "To answers your question-"

"You should never question idiots," Yusuke mumbles, but Koenma just ignores him as well as the glare that Kuwabara shoots Yusuke's way.

"-Finding those four - well, five really - demons that are in the ningenkai as well as finding out how they got here is still a top priority," Koenma continues and decides to focus his words towards Kurama, who is the only one in the room who seems to be paying any attention at all. "But there is something now that is even more important."

Kurama looks slightly surprised. "What could be more important than stopping demons from running rampant in the ningenkai?" he asks.

"One word," Koenma answers gravely. "Kuro."

Kurama's face pales noticeably.


	15. Chapter 14: Poofing sounds, Hiei, and fe

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

(1) - Onna means woman  
(2) - Kisima means bastard

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 14  
_Poofing Sounds, Hiei, and Fears_

* * *

A few steps away from Suiichi's front door I freeze; I could have sworn I had just heard a poofing sound. I slowly walk back towards the door and reach a hesitant hand towards the doorknob. Just centimeters away from touching it stop and then bring my hand back to my side. A poofing sound? Who am I kidding, I'm probably just really tired and am hallucinating.

I shake my head slightly and shove my hands in my pockets as I start to stride back down Suiichi's front lawn, wanting to get away from the house for some reason. However, just as I start to turn the corner away from the building I stop again and look back.

Had I just heard voices? I wonder... I shake my head again and continue on my way. I must be more exhausted from my training than I had originally thought.

* * *

(**The next day**)

I sigh as I walk over to the big oak tree on the edge of the school grounds. It's lunch but, once again, I find that I'm not hungry. It must be something to do with me being a demon now or something... Oh well.

Upon reaching the tree, I slump against the trunk and slide down to a sitting position on the ground.

"What are you doing onna**(1)**?"

I jolt slightly and my head jerks upwards to the tree, which is where I had heard the voice coming from. Sitting there in the branches is none other than Hiei.

I blink slightly at this, wondering why I had neither smelt nor heard Hiei before he had spoken. However, I quickly dismissed it as a small mistake on my part.

"Just sitting Sparky," I answer with a grin. Hiei's face immediately slips into a scowl at the "nickname" I had given him.

"Hn," he grunts, but then mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like "baka onna".

I glare up at him, annoyance written clearly on my face.

"What?" Hiei asks, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

I simply continue to glare at him growling, "Goddamned kisima**(2)**."

"Bitch"

"Asshole"

"Baka"

"Hey Hiei?"

The unexpected end to our "argument" seems to greatly surprise Hiei as he jerks slightly and nearly looses his balance on this branch. I of course grin at this, but make no comment.

"_What_ onna?" he says sharply.

My grin grows slightly before my face grows solemn again, if with a curious edge. "What do you wear a mask?" I ask seriously.

Hiei blinks and nearly looses his balance again. "A mask? What in the seven hells _are_ you talking about?"

"You always have an emotional mask on," I begin, effortlessly jumping into the branches of the oak tree so that I can be eye level with Hiei. "You never show you true emotions."

Hiei blinks again, surprise crossing his face. I can only guess that he is surprised I was able to pick this up. However, he says nothing and his eyes get an unfocused edge to them as he stares off into space, obviously lost in thought.

I take this chance to study him and his features. He's handsome; I'll give him that much. He's the type of person many girls would drool over, especially with his bad-ass attitude. I also notice that he has highly defined muscles and obviously works out.

My eyes wonder up to his hair, his gravity-defying unnaturally spiky black hair. I never noticed before, but it also seems to have a blue outline to it, making it even more defined and...well, different.

At last, my gaze comes to rest on his eyes. They are unlike anything I've ever seen before and are a deep crimson, almost like the color of drying blood (Me: I got the idea for the description for the color of his eyes from Chichiro Ketsuki and loved the description so much that I decided to use it! This means that the credit for it goes to her!). They really seem to pierce the soul... that is when he's actually looking or glaring at you, as he so often does. Now, as he is lost in thought, they have a sad look to them, it's almost a lost look and makes me feel an unfamiliar twinge in my heart as a thought dawns on me.

"What are you so afraid of?" I whisper quietly aloud, but to myself.

However, the spoken thought brings Hiei out of his reverie as he glares at me. "Afraid of? I'm not afraid of anything!" he growls menacingly.

I just give him a small but sad smile and jump out of the tree. Landing gracefully on my feet, I shove my hands in my pockets and begin to walk back towards the school building, letting my thoughts wander off.

* * *

(**Hiei's POV**)

I continue to glare at Kristy's retreating back, but can't help but feel my gaze soften. She's definitely a different one and is far more observant than any ningen I've met before... Well, except for Kurama of course, but he doesn't really count.

"There you are Hiei," a voice suddenly calls up to me. "I've been looking for you."

I blink and look down, slightly surprised to see Kurama himself standing at the base of the tree.

"Hn, what is it fox?" I ask as I jump out of the branches and land on the ground.

Kurama smiles gently and his eyes slide over my face before he glances back over his shoulder in the direction that the onna, Kristy, had disappeared in.

"She's different," Kurama says softly, his gaze coming back to me. "Jessie and Chris are too..."

"Hn," I grunt indifferently.

Kurama gives me a wry look. "Do you disagree?" he asks.

"...No..." I answer after a moment. "Hn, but she's still a baka onna."

Kurama gives me one of his knowing looks and smiles that I've come to hate so much, "..."

"What did you want fox?" I say a little harshly.

Kurama however, just continues to smile that smile of his and remains silent for a few more moments. "...Come Hiei," he finally says. "The bell will ring soon and we don't want to be late."


	16. Chapter 15: Video games, ferry girls, an

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

(1) - Ookami means wolf  
(2) - Youkai means demon

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 15  
_Video Games, Ferry Girls, and Evil Laughs_

* * *

(**That Afternoon**)(**Kristy's POV**)

I sigh and slouch down in my seat, surveying my surroundings. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Chris are somewhere in this arcade playing video games while Kiara and I are sitting in this booth, relaxing and drinking pop.

'How did I get dragged here?' I ask myself for just about the millionth time. Jessica and Suiichi are off "studying" together, though I have no doubt that they are in fact studying each other's lips but...

Keiko though is in fact actually studying at her own home. I swear it should be illegal to study as much as she does; it's jus not right.

As for Hiei? Well who knows where in hell that little kisama is; I certainly don't know and don't think that anyone ever does... except maybe for the fox...

WAIT! Back up for moment! Why did I just think of Suiichi as a fox? That makes absolutely no sense!

I shake my head slightly to dispel that strange thought. I know that Jason always tells me to trust my instincts, since I'm part ookami(1) youkai(2), but this must just be from tiredness and boredom.

Abruptly I realize that Kiara is staring at me strangely. "What?" I ask.

"You were just shaking you head around like a wet dog," Kiara answers.

My eye twitches and I feel a growl surfacing in my throat. "You exaggerate to much," I say wryly.

Kiara just grins. "Suuuure, whatever you say," she replies.

We both stare at each other for a moment before abruptly breaking out into howling laughter.

...And this is how Chris, Yusuke, and Kuwabara find when they come to the booth a few seconds later. They stand there for a moment and just stare at us.

"...Are you two okay?" Chris finally asks.

"We're-(**gasp**)-fine, just-(**gasp**)-fine," I say between gasps as Kiara and I start to laugh even harder. I don't know about Kiara, buy personally, I'm laughing so hard that I even have tears coming out of my eyes.

After a few more minutes, Kiara and I have both calmed down and all five of us are just sitting in the booth.

"What were we laughing at?" I ask as I stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Kiara just shrugs and takes another sip of her pop.

_RING! RING!_

I jerk slightly and look around for a moment before my eyes finally rest on Yusuke.

"Umm... Yusuke?" I say slowly. "Your pocket's ringing..."

Yusuke blinks and then looks down. "Uh... heh heh, so it is," he says with a grin. "Umm... I'll be right back."

And with that he's off and out of the store. I simply blink at the spot he had been and then blink again when he returns not a second later.

"Sorry, that was a uh... friend..." Yusuke tells us. "And anyways, we got to go Kuwabara."

"But-" Kuwabara starts to protest.

"Now Kuwabara!" Yusuke says through gritted teeth.

I blink for a third time as Yusuke grabs a hold of Kuwabara's arm and yanks him out of the store, half running. Chris and I both stare as the two of them disappear from sight.

"Okay... what just happened?" Chris asks.

Kiara and I shrug.

"They're idiots, what else is there to say?" I comment.

Kiara grins, still looking at the doors that her brother and Kuwabara had gone through. "You know," she says, standing up and slipping out of the booth. "I think I better be getting home now. I'll see you!"

We wave her off as she grins and waves back. As soon as she's gone though, Chris and I exchange puzzled looks.

"Something's up," Chris says.

"Definitely."

* * *

(**With Yusuke and Kuwabara**)(**No One's POV**)

"Well?" Yusuke says impatiently to the ferry girl, Botan. "What do you want? We came from the _arcade_ to meet you."

Botan just continues smiling, completely unfazed by Yusuke's rude attitude. "Koenma wanted me to see how you're doing on the case!" she answers.

"Which one?" Kuwabara asks. "Finding those four demons that have been in the human world or about the Kuro-"

"Finding the demons," Botan tells him perkily (Me: -shudders- Oh the perkiness). "So? How is it coming?"

"Well we haven't found them yet if that's what you mean," Yusuke says grumpily. "But Hiei is out right now scanning the city for any abnormal energies."

Botan nods, still smiling. "Well at least you're doing something!" she says.

"Hey!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shout simultaneously. "What's that supposed to mean!"

"Exactly as it sounds," a voice says behind them, surprising everyone and making Kuwabara jump into Yusuke's arms.

"Kiara! Don't do that!" Yusuke yells angrily, immediately dropping Kuwabara and glaring at him, as the baka lays on the ground, only semi-conscious.

"Whatever you say bro," Kiara answers with a grin. "Soooo, what were you guys talking about?"

Yusuke growls again and starts to say something, but Botan perkily steps in, smoothly ignoring Yusuke.

"I was checking up to see how these two and the other of the Reikai Tentai are doing on their mission!" she chirps.

Kiara grins. "That reminds me," she says turning back to her older brother. "Everyday for a while now you've been walking with Jessie, Kristy, and Chris to and from school. Why?"

Yusuke gives a start, "Uh, well..."

"Come on, that's not hard Yusuke!" Kuwabara cries.

Yusuke glares at him and then sighs. "You're right, it's not," he replies, acting serious for one of the first times in his life. "It's just that they're good friends of ours now, eventhough they have no idea of anything about the Spirit World or who - or what - we are. I would really hate for _anything_ to happen to them with these five demons running around the ningenkai. They're even more so targets because of their connection to us."

Both Botan and Kiara stare at Yusuke's whole attitude on this situation. It is extremely surprising, considering this is Yusuke we're talking about.

"Dear Kami, Yusuke is being serious; it's a sign of the apocalypse!" Kiara breathes, eyes still wide with shock.

Yusuke growls and hits Kiara over the back of the head. "Baka!" he growls out. "This isn't funny! Our friends could very well die if we don't find those four demons soon!"

Kiara immediately sobers up, though is still glaring slightly at Yusuke.

"We know," Botan says gravely, surprising them all with her...unperkyness. "And even though neither Koenma no I have met these friends of yours, we too are working overtime to find these demons so that the entire Ningenkai will be safe. I can only hope that we will be able to complete this mission in time for the Kuro-"

_SMASH!_

"Botan! Look out!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"NO! BOTAN!"


	17. Chapter 16: Telepathy, bait, and Kuro

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

(1) - Rekai Tentai means Spirit Detectives  
(2) - Ningens means Humans  
(3) - Kuro means black (so it's the Black Tournament)

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 16  
_Telepathy, Bait, and Kuro_

* * *

(**Back in the arcade**)(**Kristy's POV**)

About five minutes after Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Kiara leave, Chris and I find ourselves hopelessly bored. Chris groans and lets his head rest tiredly on his arms while I lean back in my seat with my arms crossed and stare blankly ahead. We continue to stay like this until I suddenly start to grin.

"Hey!" I exclaim. "Guess what Chris! Guess what!"

Chris' head jerks upward and he blinks for a moment before giving me strange look. "...what?" he finally says.

"I'm bored!"

Chris head falls forward again and smacks the table as a shocked expression covers his face. Bringing his head up again, Chris glares at me and an anime vein starts to throb on the side of his head.

"That's what you wanted to tell me!" he seethes. "Can you not tell that I'm bored out of my mind as well?"

I simply shrug with a grin still in place. "Whatever," I reply. "Let's just get out of here; I don't think that Yus and the others are coming back."

Chris nods in agreement, his anger already forgotten.

And so the two of us quickly walk out the arcade and begin strolling down the sidewalk in God-knows what direction. We walk for several minutes, when we suddenly reach a small park that we had never seen before. It was one of those children's ones, but had a few dense trees.

Chris and I stop in front of it and exchange glances before we both shrug and continue forward; it's not like we have anything better to do. We walk through the trees through the other side when I suddenly freeze in place with wide eyes. I could feel an demonic energy close by, but the thing was that I recognized it!

It was Rhurac's!

I look over at Chris and see that he can feel it as well. We share confused and wondering looks for a moment before we both nod again and take off in the direction of the energy. It takes us several minutes before we finally reach the entryway to an alleyway, but there is no doubt about it; Rhurac is somewhere in there.

We cautiously stalk inside and out of the light. With my enhanced vision however, I can see that this is part of a connection of back alleyways and that it goes several hundred meters along before it turns its first corner...And Rhurac is around that corner.

/**He's around the corner**/ I telepathically say to Chris, deciding to test out my new power.

Chris jumps slightly and he wildly searches around the alley until his wide eyes finally rests on me. "K-kristy!" he asks.

/**Yeah?**/ I reply, making him jump again.

"How can you do that?" Chris asks, amazed.

"Well," I answer. "As you know, I am part psychic demon as is my brother, so he has been teaching me how to speak telepathically. It can really come in handy sometimes.

Chris raggedly shakes his head. "Not that!" he says. "I knew that Jason was going to teach train your psychic and telepathic powers, but how did you get past my defenses? I didn't even sense you get into my mind!"

I stare at Chris confusedly. "Defenses?"

"...Yeah, defenses. Hasn't Jason taught you that yet?"

I shake my head still confused. "No," I tell him. "He only just started my training yesterday."

A look of wonder spreads across Chris' face. "Then how were you able to get past my mind's defenses? I have very strong mental shields that I've been building up for years! And even if a very powerful psychic tried to enter my mind, let alone a beginner like you!"

A frown settles on my face and my brow furrows. Chris was right, how was I able to get into his mind like that if he had these so-called "defenses" around his mind. I shrug it off uneasily, deciding that I would have to ask Jason later.

/**Well anyways**/ I say telepathically to Chris, reopening a mind-link directly through his memories to his thoughts with ease that I was now conscious of. /**There is a corner just ahead and Rhurac just down it**/

Chris nods silently, though I can still feel some of his amazement drift from his mind. /**Yes**/ he replies. /**And I suppose we should start to get a little serious about this, eh?**/

He turns his head to me and I can clearly see a grin on it.

/**Exactly my thoughts**/ I reply with a smirk.

Shutting the mind-link and closing my eyes, I begin to focus my energy. I soon feel that familiar warmth envelop me and reopen my eyes to find myself in my demon form and Chris in his beside me. We share another grin and continue down the alleyway.

* * *

(**Kiara's POV**)

I stay frozen on the ground still in a daze, my mind to shocked at what just occurred to answer my body.

Botan, Kuwabara, my brother, and I had just been standing there talking when this huge green-skinned demon came dropping down form nowhere and snatched Botan up. We had tried to warn her, but he was to fast and had Botan out before we had a chance to do anything.

Catching the two Spirit Detectives (Yusuke and Kuwabara) completely off-guard, the demon then swiped at them, knocking the two back and rendering them unconscious. I had been slightly hit as well, but only enough to leave me dazed.

Shakily, I stand up and stumble over to Yusuke and Kuwabara to feel their pulses. After a moment I let out a sigh of relief; they're fine, but will probably be out for while.

Worriedly, I stare in the direction that the demon that had taken Botan had gone. What happened to her? Is she all right? After a moment of debating internally, I stand up again begin to cross the street to the alleyway that the demon had entered. I cannot allow anything to happen to Botan.

I follow the alleyway in a few yards until I see a corner up ahead. I feel out with spiritual senses and immediately freeze up as I realize that there is not just one, but three demonic signatures around the corner.

Realization dawns on me.

These must be three of the five demons that the Reikai Tentai**(1)** have been searching for! I bite lip and stare at the corner nervously. What am I going to do!

Slowly I edge down the alleyway and take a peek around the corner. I just barely hold back a gasp.

An unconscious Botan is leaning against a wall with the demon that kidnapped her standing next to her. The other two demons have their backs to me, but I can easily tell that they are glaring at the green-skinned demon.

"So now you've reduced yourself to picking on innocent ningens**(2)**, Rhurac?" growls the first of the two new demons in a female voice. She is obviously an ookami youkai, with long sleek sliver hair and silky wolf ears and tail that are silver with black tips. She certainly is majestic looking.

"Of course not," says the green-skinned demon, who I now know is called Rhurac. "I just needed some bait to draw you out."

"Bait!" spits out the second of the new demons. He has spiky ice blue hair and I can tell that he is pretty strong from the visible muscles beneath his shirt. He also has a cool aura around him, allowing me to identify him as an ice youkai.

I can't help but to stare wide-eyed as I watch this exchange. This proves that this Rhurac is an enemy of these two demons, but what about the other two unidentified demons that we've been looking for? And do the ookami youkai and the ice youkai really mean no harm?

This also puts forward another question. Rhurac had said that he was just using Botan as bait, which would mean that he didn't know that Yusuke and Kuwabara are the Spirit Detectives. So is it all really just a coincidence that Botan was kidnapped?

I start to feel a headache coming on as all of these thoughts fly around my head. This is turning out to be very strange.

"Well you've drawn us out," the ookami youkai suddenly says, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Now prepare to suffer the consequences!"

She immediately lunges forward, a ball of fire appearing in her hand.

"Ah ah ah," says Rhurac with a grin as he jumps back and out of the way, leaving Botan where she is against the wall. "I'm not here for a fight."

"Then what the hell do you want?" the ice youkai growls out, a spear of ice - which I just noticed - resting in his hands in a menacing way.

Rhurac tosses something at the two, which the ookami youkai instinctively catches. From where I am I can just barely make out that it is an small envelope.

"What's this?" the ookami youkai asks, looking back up to Rhurac.

Rhurac continues to grin insanely. "You've been wanting to meet my master, yes?" he asks. Both the ookami and ice youkai narrow their eyes at the green-skinned demon. "Well, he believes that the time may have come."

With that Rhurac throws back his head and begins to cackle loudly as a cloud of green-tinted smoke surrounds him. When the smoke finally dissipates, he is gone and I can no longer feel his energy signal.

The ookami youkai begins to jump forward after him, but her companion holds her back, shaking his head gently when she looked at him questioningly.

"Well," the ice youkai says, looking over at Botan. "What are we going to do about her?"

The ookami youkai lets out a sigh. "There isn't really anything we can do execpt pray that when she wakes up she'll think this was all a dream or something."

The ice youkai nods in agreement. "Then lets get going," he says, looking at the envelope apprehensively. "We need to find out what's in that."

And with that the two demons begin to run down the alleyway and out of site.

I turn my attention to Botan and begin to approach her, only to jump back slightly when she shifts and looks up at me.

"You've been awake!" I cry out.

She just nods and glances down the way that the two demons had gone. "Well that was certainly...interesting..." she says.

I nod in agreement.

"Botan! Kiara!" a voice suddenly calls from behind me (in the direction that she had come from).

I whip around, taking up a defensive position, but relax when I see that it is just Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Don't worry!" Kuwabara calls out heroically when he sees us. "I'll save thee fair ladies!"

Yusuke, Botan, and I just ignore him.

"What happened?" Yusuke asks. "Where's the demon?"

I open my mouth to tell him about what happened, but Botan quickly cuts me off. "Kiara saved me," she says. "But the demon got away."

I blink slightly in surprise, but just nod in agreement to my brother, deciding to just go along with Botan's story.

"Well we better go and tell Koenma what happened," Yusuke says and starts back down the alleyway.

Botan and I silently follow him and Kuwabara. I wait until we Yusuke and Kuwabara are caught up in another of their stupid arguments before I lean over towards Botan and whisper, "Why did you do that?"

Botan blinks at me. "Do what?"

"Lie to them!"

Botan shrugs lightly. "I'm not entirely sure," she answers. "Something is just telling me that we shouldn't tell them; not yet."

I give Botan a strange look and then just shrug it off. My thoughts are still on the two demons though. I'm not sure why, but something about them seems almost...familiar...but I'm sure that it's just my imagination.

...Right?

* * *

(**Kristy's POV**)

"So this is the envelope he gave?" asks Jason, looking down at said envelope. Chris and I had just finished telling him and Jessica about our encounter with Rhurac.

Chris nods while I say, "Well, open it!" enthusiastically.

Jason brings it up to his nose, sniffing it slightly. "Well it seems okay," he says hesitantly before he slowly begins to open the envelope. Out of it falls a folded piece of paper.

"It's an invitation," Jessica says, looking over Jason's shoulder.

Jason nods absently, his eyes scanning over the contents of the letter.

"Well?" I ask impatiently.

"Bashere is inviting us to..." Jason begins slowly.

Chris, Jessica, and I wait expectantly for him to finish, but he just trails off as his eyes widen in shock.

"Well?" I repeat, even more eager now to find out exactly what had shocked my brother so badly.

"...To the Kuro**(3)** Tournament..."

"Huh?"

Jason turns his still-shocked gaze up from the letter to our three confused faces and sighs. "Kristy, you know about the Dark Tournament that I've told you about?"

I nod in response, still confused.

"And Chris, your father has told you, correct?"

Another nod and Jessica quickly says when Jason's gazed turns to her, "He told me as well."

Jason nods in satisfaction and then continues his explanation, "Well, the Kuro Tournament is nearly the exactly same thing as the Dark Tournament, and not just in name. You see, it too is basically a death tournament, only much worse.

"Where as nearly anyone can compete in the Dark Tournament, the Kuro Tournament is invitation only, and believe me, only the very most powerful demons are invited.

"The Kuro Tournament however, was banned from the Makai several thousand years ago because having so many powerful demons together, battling, in one place could upset the balance of the three worlds. So in the end I really don't understand how there could be another one.

"However, from what I can understand of this invitation, Bashere is the one sponsoring the tournament. That would really explain it all, eventhough I'm sure that that makes this tournament illegal. And that of course means that if we attend, we'll have to watch out for Reikai police, spies, and/or detectives."

Shocked silence seems to echo around the room.

"...So are we going?"

"Kristy!" Jessica scolds, slapping my arm. "Jason just finished telling us how dangerous and illegal this tournament is and all you want to know is if you're going to get to fight!"

"...Basically..."

_SMACK_

"...owie..."


	18. Chapter 17: Christmas Special Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 17  
_Christmas Special - Part 1_

* * *

'_Too...early..._' I mentally groan as some early morning sunlight hits my face, effectively, and annoyingly, waking me up. I groan again, though aloud this time, and roll over and bury my face in my blankets. I sigh slightly then, happily warm, when the warmth and the blankets are abruptly ripped away, leaving me to curl up to a ball.

...It was then that I remembered that I am part fire demon...and fire demons are immune to the cold...damn...Wait! That's a good thing!

I groan a second time and groggily sit up in bed, opening my eyes for the first time this morning. The sight I find is that of my older brother standing at the edge of my bed, my blankets in his hands and an amused expression on his face.

"Bastard," I mutter.

Jason immediately proceeds to dump my blankets back on my bed and whack me over the head. "Don't speak to your elders that way!" he growls, but amusement can still be heard on his tone.

"Alright," I say rolling my eyes. "I'll remember that for when I finally meet one of my 'elders'."

Jason once again moves to hit me over the head, but I deftly move out the when and dash out of my room and into the bathroom with a grin on my face.

About an hour later I walk out of the bathroom with dripping wet hair and sigh. It had been very relaxing to take a nice long shower. I quickly stride into the kitchen and plop down into one of the chairs. Jason glances up across the table at me before looking back down and continuing to read his book.

"You do know what day it is, right?" Jason asks me a few minutes later without looking up.

"Of course," I answer, taking another bite of the toast I had been eating. "It's Christmas Eve...HOLY CRAP! IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!"

I jump up out of my chair with wide eyes and immediately dash down the hall to my room and begin to change my clothes.

You see, Jessica, Chris, Yusuke, Kiara, Kuwabara, Suiichi, Keiko and I (Hiei blatantly refused to come) had decided to have a Christmas party where we all could have fun and exchange gifts. However, since all of us would be spending Christmas Day with our families, we decided to have the party on Christmas Eve. Of course, I have been very exited about this for the past week, so I'm really amazed that I was able to so easily forget exactly what today was this morning! Ah well, life goes on, right?

Quickly I glance at my standing mirror as I walk out of my room. I'm wearing a regular pair of blue jeans instead of my traditional black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. My choker is in place, as it always is, and for once, I have my hair up in a ponytail instead of letting it hang loose.

Turning away from my reflection, I make my way back down the hall and into the kitchen. Upon seeing my outfit however, Jason raises an eyebrow.

"I thought you were going to dress up nice for the party?" he asks.

I give him a wry look in return. "This _is_ me dressing up!" I reply. Upon seeing Jason's flat stare though, I continue, "What were you expecting? Me to wear a dress?" I snort slightly at the absurdity of that last thought.

Jason rolls his eyes. "Well, whatever," he grunts. "But why are you going to the party so early?"

"First off, it's two O'clock right now," I reply. "And second, I promised to help Keiko to get everything ready.

Jason blinks. "So it's at Keiko's?"

"Nope, Yusuke's."

Jason twitches. "Then why the hell are you an Keiko the ones who are setting everything up?" he growls out.

"Can you seriously see Yusuke setting up for a party without burning his entire house down?"

"I've never met him, remember?" Jason snaps in reply. "...Actually, I haven't met any of your friends besides Chris and Jessica..."

I just shrug. "Well, it's always either that you are busy or that they are busy; it's not really my problem," I say.

"Just go already!" Jason says with a sigh. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" I call over my shoulder as I run through the front door, completely forgetting to close it behind me.

* * *

(**At Yusuke's House**) (**5:00 P.M.**)

"Well," Keiko says with a sigh as she falls ungracefully back onto Yusuke's couch. "It looks like everything is done."

I can't help but agree with her as I look around the small house and see the result of all of our hard labor; the house was finally ready for the party! And I had to admit as well that everything looked really good.

We had set up and decorated a Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and had strung garland all around the house - and that's just an example of what we did. But in the end, it really did look very...Christmasy...

And where are Yusuke and his mother you ask? Well apparently, his mother is out at another party getting drunk or something, but Yusuke is just out collecting all of the "guests" (a.k.a. all of our friend who are coming).

_DING-DONG!_

Well, speak of the devil, I'd guess that that's them now.

Quickly, and with a large grin on my face, I make my way to the door. Throwing said door open, I'm just about to scream out "Merry Christmas", or something of the like, when I see who it is who is standing there and my eye widen in complete shock, and a little fear.


	19. Chapter 18: Christmas Special Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, and Rhurac.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 18  
_Christmas Special - Part 2_

* * *

Standing there in the doorway with a very pissed off expression on his face is Hiei...in a big red Santa suit, complete with beard and hat. The reason for my fear though? He looked like he could murder the entire ningen population of Japan at that moment and still have anger to spare. He had even started twitching slightly.

Wondering why I was just standing in front of the door, staring, Keiko comes up behind me to see who had rung the bell.

"Who is i-" she begins and then stops mid-sentence, her mouth dropping open in pure shock. "Oh dear Kami-sama..."

I just continue to stare at Hiei for a few more minutes, Keiko still standing behind me in a state of shock, before exactly what I'm seeing finally hits me. I can't help but smother a giggle.

Hiei turns his gaze to me - he had started shifting uncomfortably under mine and Keiko's astonished stares - his death glare back in place. "Exactly what is so funny onna?" he asks, a low growl underlining his voice.

Holding back a fit of laughter I barely manage out, "Nothing" before clamping my mouth shut again. Behind me I can hear Keiko doing the same thing. Hiei glares at both of us, as if daring us to laugh.

Unfortunately, a Santa with a death glare is extremely hilarious; I just couldn't hold it in any more. I burst out laughing.

...5 minutes later...

Gasping for breath, my full-blown laughter finally subsides. Wiping a few tears from my eyes, I clear my vision enough to see Hiei...and almost wish I hadn't.

Hiei's face is red - though whether from anger or embarrassment I can't tell - and he has started to twitch. Suddenly realizing that my life is in very grave danger, I immediately rush through the doorway to the outside, bowling over a slightly surprised Hiei in the process.

Not caring where I was going I just ran in a random direction down the street. Even after a few minutes though, I could here Hiei chasing me and started cursing quietly. For a damn ningen, the dude sure is fast.

* * *

(**1 hour later**)

After about 30 minutes of Hiei chasing me, 15 minutes of Yusuke and Chris trying to convince Hiei that it was okay to let me live, 10 minutes of Yusuke, Suiichi, Hiei - who was still throwing glares at me -, and I traveling back to Yusuke's house, and another five minutes of all of Keiko herding all of us into the living room, we are all finally ready and settled down in the living.

Yusuke, Keiko, Suiichi, and Jessica all sat on the couch (in that order) while Kuwabara sat in one chair and Chris sat in the one across from him. Much to my displeasure, Hiei took the window seat, so instead I spread myself out over both seats of the love seat. I had to admit, for not being in a window seat, I was quite comfortable.

"Well," Keiko begins, clapping her hands together excitedly. "Let's begin with opening the gifts!"

Simultaneously, all eight heads snapped toward the Christmas tree, which was standing in the corner of the room with piles of colorful presents under it.

Instantly, an insane grin spreads over my face. "WHOO-HOO! PRESENTS!" I scream in delight and dive in the direction of the tree.

Emphasis on in the _direction_ of the tree.

_CRASH!_

Jessica sighs. "Who gave her ice cream?" she asks as everyone stares at my crumpled form on the floor from where I had crashed head-on into a wall.

Hiei just stares blankly at me. "Hn. Baka onna."

* * *

I grinned down at the opened presents in front of me. I couldn't believe that everyone had gotten me nearly exactly what I had wanted.

I had received 2 CDs from Yusuke - both rock of course -, an Educational Video from Keiko - that I couldn't help but cringe at -, a potting plant kit from Suiichi - including seeds that he guaranteed would grow very quickly and last a long time -, a creepy kitten poster from Kuwabara - I didn't know where it had come from and frankly, I really didn't want to find out -, a tub of delicious sweet snow from Chris - already half gone...What? It's good stuff! -, and a pair of black fire-resistant fingerless gloves (Me: Will be explained later) from Jessica.

The only person who I haven't received anything from is Hiei. But of course, I had honestly expected him to give _anyone_ anything; he's just not that type of guy. I'm surprised he even came to this party, after all he had blankly refused to come when we asked him. Speaking of which...

"Hey Hiei," I begin. "You said that you weren't coming, so why did you show up? And in a Santa suit no less."

Hiei lets out a low growl and Yusuke and Kuwabara begins howling with laughter.

After they calm down Yusuke replies, "That would be my handiwork. I was able to uh...blackmail...him to come to the party, and to come dressed like that."

I blinked at this. What in the seven levels of hell could he have blackmailed _Hiei_ with? Oh well, the point is that he's here now. He even received a few presents from some of us.

I had gotten one as well and fortunately had brought it with me, thinking I could ask Suiichi or someone to give it to Hiei. It was now lying on his lap as he began to unwrap it.

I watch Hiei's eyes widen as he tears of the wrapping paper, realizing a shining new katana. A smirk crosses my face at his stunned expression; I was hoping to get a reaction like this. His old katana had looked pretty well used so I had thought that getting him a new one would be a good idea.

I quickly glance away as Hiei looks my way, not wanting him to know that I had been watching his reaction. '_Seems like he noticed though,_' I think as I feel his burning gaze on my back.

Shrugging it off, I continue my conversation with Jessica and Yusuke.

* * *

(**Later that night**)

Several hours later all of us were thoroughly exhausted and ready to go home. As each of just as I was beginning to follow everyone else to the door where we were saying good-bye to Yusuke, Hiei abruptly grabs onto my upper arm, holding me in place.

"What?" I ask irritably, tiredness making me cranky.

"Hn. Meet me in front of the school."

I blink as Hiei lets me go and then proceed to push his way out of the door before vanishing in the night. I simply shrug at Hiei's message though; I have to pass the school to get home anyway. But then again, why does Hiei need to speak with me there?

I shrug again and finish bading Yusuke and everyone else a goodnight.

* * *

About 10 minutes later the dark form of the school building comes into sight. As I come closer I can see Hiei leaning against the chain link fence right in front of the building.

I stop just before him. "What is it?" I ask, curiosity entering my voice.

"Hn. Merry Christmas."

Hiei walks forward, shoves something into my hand, and then quickly walks away, once again disappearing into the night. I take a step after him and then stop with sigh. There no way I'll be able to find him, not in this darkness.

I sigh a second time, slowly open my hand to see what Hiei had given me, and immediately gasp. It is pendant on a simple chain, but the pendant is simply gorgeous.

It has a sword with its blade down (so the chain goes through the hilt) and with two dragons, one black and one gold, twining and twisting upwards around the blade so that their heads are resting on either side of the hilt. It's simply amazing.

Mouth still agape, I slowly reach up and clasp it around my neck. I continue to stare at it for another minute before I finally snap out of my reverie and begin to once again make my way home.

This has been one...interesting...Christmas Eve.


	20. Chapter 19: Enter Jin and Touya!

A/N: Ettos people! I'm back! And sorry for the long wait (**sweatdrops**). Sorry that Flippy is not here right now, but I've decided that I'd rather keep the beginning of my stories to a simply A/N. Well, please enjoy this chapter and DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! ...(**grins**) Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Yusuke'sSister owns Kiara.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Mr. Rawl, Bashere, Rhurac, and any related names or items.

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 19  
_Enter Jin and Touya!_

* * *

(**One Week Later**)

Another week passed and another just another week closer to the Kuro Tournament.

I can't help but I sigh as I walk into my apartment and close the door behind me. Dropping my school bag on the floor, I make my way into the kitchen.

"Jason! I'm home from school!" I call out.

"Great!" Jason calls back, his head popping through the doorway to the living room. "We can leave soon then"

I freeze in the middle of dropping down into one the kitchen chairs. "Go?" I ask suddenly "Where?"

"Chris' " Jason answers from wherever he is in the living room. "His father offered to train you a little bit."

"Really? That's awesome!" I say, immediately perking up.

"Yeah, now let's go!"

* * *

(**At Chris' house**)

Finally reaching the small house that Chris lives in with his father, I knock on the door. Chris opens it and smiles as he sees that it is Jason and I.

"Come in!" he says and leads my brother and I into the living room where is father is.

"Konichiwa, Rawl-san," I say, bowing politely. "It is good to see you again." Jason mirrors my actions.

"And it is good to see you two too!" Mr. Rawl says with a chuckle, bowing as well.

Mr. Rawl is certainly an interesting man, and even more so now that I know that he is a demon. He has thick light brown hair that, now that I really look at it, has a blue tint to it and piercing sky blue eyes. He also looks extremely young; no more than thirty or so.

Suddenly I let out a slight gasp; I haven't seen Mr. Rawl in over 5 years, but he still looks exactly the same as the last time I saw him!

Upon hearing my gasp, everyone - Jason, Chris, and Mr. Raw that is - turns to me. Mr. Rawl seems to read my mind when he sees my shocked face.

"You're surprised that I haven't aged, no?" he asks. I can do little but nod numbly. "Well, I must say I'm surprised that your brother hasn't explained it to you yet."

"Explained what to her, sir?" Jason asks, confusion crossing his features.

Mr. Rawl turns to him, truly shocked. "You mean you don't know either!" he cries out and then sighs.

"Well I suppose your parents...passed on...before they could properly explain it to you." He then slowly sank into one of the living room chairs and motions for all of us to do the same. "You see, demons, and even humans with some demonic blood in them, age _much_ more slowly than ningens. The average demon can live around a thousand years, though most are killed before then if they are not powerful enough."

"But how come both Jason and I have aged at the same rate as humans?" I ask. "And Chris and Jessie have too!"

"That's the other part of it," Mr. Rawl continues. "All demons age at the same rate as humans until their 18th birthday. At that point their aging begins to slow down, though it obviously isn't that noticeable for several years." He then turns to Jason and says, "You may have noticed that you haven't changed much in the last few years." (Me: Jason is 21, remember?)

Slowly, Jason nods in reply, understanding spreading over his face. Mr. Rawl grins widely and then turns his attention back to me.

"Now about your training-" he begins, but is cut off by a knock on the front door. Blinking as if confused, Mr. Rawl quickly gets up and walks over to the door. Upon opening it he greets the knocker, "How can I- Touya!"

I peek around Mr. Rawl and am greeted by an interesting site. Standing there is a man - who I gather is Touya - who has ice blue hair with mint green side bangs and piercing blue eyes. He's also wearing a very...interesting...outfit. A toga would be the only way I could really describe it.

"I'm guessing that this is the right house then," a light and carefree voice suddenly says from behind this "Touya". Touya shifts slightly so that the owner of the voice in view.

He turns out to be yet another interesting character. He has messy red hair and sky blue eyes, but what really caught me off guard were the two little horns sitting on top of his head. My face goes blank and I can do little other than stare ahead.

"Jin too? How nice to see both of you again," Mr. Rawl continues.

"Huh?" Chris comes up next to me and also peeks around his dad. "Who...?"

Mr. Rawl just smiles at the two strange figures. "Come in! Come in!" he says, quickly waving both of them into the house.

They step inside, the door closing behind them, but Touya stops when he sees me, his ice blue eyes narrowing in a freezing glare that challenged even Hiei's. I quickly dodge his glare and turn questioning gaze to Mr. Rawl. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Chris doing the same.

Mr. Rawl sweatdrops "Ah yes, I suppose I should explain..." he chuckles slightly. "Touya here is Chris' cousin."

Chris lets out a gasp of disbelief. "What! I thought that no one knew we were here!" he says, however, his shock quickly turns into anger.

"How come you never told me? I would think that at the very least-"

"Quiet! Quiet!" Mr. Rawl quickly cuts his son off. "For one thing, you did meet Touya once when you were younger, but just don't remember it. As for why I haven't reminded you or mentioned him-Well, I suppose it just slipped my mind."

Chris twitches slightly and begins muttering under his breath, but other than that says nothing in reply.

"Now," Mr. Rawl continues. "Jin is a friend and comrade of Touya's. I first met him several years ago when I visited Makai for a short time."

"Hn," Touya grunts, still glaring at Jason and I (We had migrated back into the living room during some point in our conversation). "And them?"

"This is Kristy and Jason," Mr. Rawl explains. "And don't worry, they happen to be demons as well." Mr. Rawl said this grinning at Jin who had been self-consciously rubbing his horns the whole time he was speaking

Touya however narrows his eyes even further. "I can sense no youki(1) coming from either of them,"

"Suppression," Jason states simply, not flinching away from Touya's burning gaze.

"Impossible. I am well trained in sensing energy. Even if you were suppressing your energy, I would be able to sense _something_"

"We've been hiding our energy our entire lives just to stay alive. Besides, unlike you two we actually do have human forms. And these forms completely mask any demonic energy we have, basically making us humans while we still possess these forms."

Touya and Jason begin glaring at each other, neither showing any signs of letting up, while Jin blinks in the background. Mr. Rawl sighs and Chris and I sweatdrop as we watch the two have a "glaring contest".

"Well..." Mr. Rawl begins, effectively cutting off the "glaring contest" "It really is great to see the two of you, but I must ask, what are you two doing here?"

"We're mainly just dropping by to say hello, but also to ask _you_ something," Jin replies. "Have you by chance heard of that Kuro Tournament?"

"Indeed I have," Mr. Rawl answers with a grave nod, his gaze flickering to Jason and I for a moment.

"Eh?" Jin asks, noticing Mr. Rawl's gaze.

"I must agree," Touya intervenes "Exactly who are these two and what do they have to do with the Tournament?"

Mr. Rawl lets out an irritated sigh before focusing on Touya. He seems to be trying to figure what to say to Touya and Jin. After another moment, he lets out another sigh.

"Well first of all, you might want to sit down."

As soon as we all have done so, sitting on various chairs and couches throughout the moderately sized living room, Mr. Rawl turns to Jason. Jason nods, understanding what he means and begins to explain.

"Have you ever heard of Bashere?" Jason asks.

"Aye," Jin answers gravely while Touya remains impassive. "He's an extremely powerful demon lord, and a damn blood thirsty one at that."

Jason nods. "Now, have you ever heard of Rei and Shantel?"

"Rei was another powerful demon lord." Jin says. "Shantel was his mate. They were killed about 12 years ago by Bashere." A confused look suddenly takes over Jin's face. "But what does this have to do with anything?"

"Rei and Shantel were our parents," Jason answers with a sigh, pointing to him and I

Touya's eyes narrow - again – and a slight growl surfaces in his throat. "I've never heard that they had children."

"Well, yeah," Jason rolls his eyes. "Bashere _would_ have killed us if he had known of us. Therefore, we had to keep our identities hidden and live as ningens for as long as we could."

"Then why are you starting to come out into the open now?"

"Isn't that obvious? Bashere has found us"

Jin was now looking back and forth between Touya and my brother, absolutely confused "Wait! Wait! Wait!" he cries, throwing his arms up "I still don't get what this has to do with the Kuro Tournament!"

Both Jason and Touya roll their eyes

"Hn"

Jason sighs exasperatedly at Touya before turning to Jin. "Bashere is the sponsor for this tournament. He has invited Kristy and I to compete - to kill us off, of course. I'm guessing that Reikai is starting to pick up demonic signatures and that Bashere would rather involve the Spirit Detectives as little as possible. I've heard that Spirit Detectives of King Enma - or Koenma or whoever - have become very good.

Jin nods with a happy smile on his face. "Aye! They are! They were able to beat our team at the last Dark Tournament"

"What? You were in the last Dark Tournament?" I ask surprised.

"Yep!"

Jason nods as well, a far off look on his face. As soon as he 'comes back to earth' he starts grinning wickedly.

"Well," Jason begins. "You both seem to be pretty powerful so I have a proposition for you two."

This catches Jin and - amazingly - Touya's attention.

"As you know, the Kuro Tournament requires that each team has at least five fighters. At this point we only have four."

"Yeah," Jin says cautiously, prompting Jason to continue.

"Would you two like to come with us as our fifth and six fighters?"

Jin and Touya exchange looks and seem to be thinking it over. Finally, they both nod and Jin bows, "We would be honored"

Jason grins happily. "Great!"

"One thing," Touya says all of the sudden, pulling everyone's attention to him. "Watch out for the Spirit Detectives. We fought them in the Dark Tournament and they _are_ powerful." I hold back a snicker as Touya says the last part grudgingly - this guy seems more and more like Hiei! "They also should be open and happy to have strong opponents."

Once more, I'm confused. "You say that as if you're sure that they'll be in the Kuro Tournament."

Touya turns his piecing gaze on me "That's because I am."

The six of us stand in silence for a few minutes, each contemplating what this new revelation could mean. Finally, Mr. Rawl claps his hands together with a smile on his face.

"Well, let's not all be standing around here; we've got work to do!" he says. "Touya, Jin, you two may stay here 'til the tournament if you'd like." They nod and Mr. Rawl continues, "Jason, Chris, you both can train in the back yard. As for your training, Kristy..." He pauses to look at me before continuing, "Follow me"

Gulping slightly at the foreboding tone in his voice, I follow the older demon out of the room, wondering what he had in store for me.


	21. Chapter 20: Psychic Troubles

A/N: Ettos everyone! I'm back! (**grins**) First of all, I want to say that I understand that this story is going a little slow right now. Don't worry though! I just need to get through this part before the story really speeds up and the tournament begins! This chapter will basically be a bit more of an explanation chapter, so sorry about that, but I think that you'll like my explanation for telepathy. (**cheeky grin**) So enjoy all! And don't forget to review! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - I got this whole idea from Naruto (which I don't own) and just twisted it to fit my story.  
(2) - For those of you who know Yu-Gi-Oh, think of the millennium eye symbol thingy.  
(3) - Incase you don't understand, the whole "going through his mind" process takes only a tenth of a second in the real world.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'**_Telepathy_**'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Kyogue!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 20  
_Psychic Troubles_

* * *

I quietly follow Mr. Rawl down the hall, glancing warily at the shadows. It isn't that I'm afraid of them or anything; it's just that I'm slightly confused. During all of my times being here, I have never seen this hall before in Chris' house. As Mr. Rawl pushed open a door at the end of the hallway, it lets out a loud squeak. I raised an eyebrow as I realized that this was the only door I had seen while walking in this hall. Creepy. Looking back up at Mr. Rawl I follow him inside the room.

The moderately sized room was more than room enough for several people to comfortably spar, and the far wall was lined with several different types of weapons. Katana, sai, daggers, long swords, and a couple of staffs were among the ones that I could recognize. However, instead of leading me to the weapons rack, Mr. Rawl walked to the center of the room where a couple of mats were laid out, and nodding towards me he motioned for me to sit down.

He waited until I was comfortable to clear his throat, and once he got my attention he nodded. "I've heard from Jason that you are part fire youkai, part psychic youkai, part darkness youkai, and part wolf youkai. This is correct, no?" I nod, telling him that he was right. "Well, I myself am a 100 percent ice youkai. As I am sure you have heard, it is quite rare for a youkai to have more than one blood. But it's also what made your parents so powerful _(A/N: In case you don't remember, Kristy's mother was half wind youkai and half psychic and her father was half fire youkai and half darkness youkai)_. You yourself however, are extremely rare. You're probably the only youkai in several millenniums to have four different types of blood. And that three are elemental and one is animalistic is even more incredible! Elemental and animalistic youkai almost never interbreed. But anyway, back to the point..."

"While I am all ice youkai, I have also had a lot of spiritual and psychic training. Since you are a fourth psychic demon, what I'm going to teach will probably be a bit easier for you to learn than it was for me." A large grin covers my face and I open my mouth to speak, but Mr. Rawl raises a hand, telling me to be quiet. "Before we begin however, I want to test how strong your psychic abilities are so far. So tell me, what have you been taught so far?"

"Well," I begin, staring off into space as I think. "I can hold telepathic conversations and can read surface thoughts."

"The surface thoughts of humans," Mr. Rawl corrects offhandedly as he thinks.

"No," I reply, furrowing my brow. "I can read my brother's, Chris', and Jessica's too."

Mr. Rawl eyes widened as he stared at me. "What? But what about their mental shields? I'm pretty sure that you haven't been training long enough to break through Chris' shield, and Jason is half psychic youkai and has been training all of his life, so you certainly shouldn't be able to get through his."

"Erm, that's were Jason is confused," I reply. Mr. Rawl motioned for me to explain and so I do so. "When I go to enter a youkai's mind I just...do. I meet no resistance and it's as if the shield simply isn't there. Jason hasn't been able to figure out why that is."

Mr. Rawl closed his eyes, as if in deep thought. When he opened his eyes, he nodded slightly. "Well then, I want you to try to read my surface thoughts right now. I have been training for all my life--which is a pretty long time mind you--so my mental shields should be a lot more powerful than Jason's, even though I have no psychic blood. Go ahead now."

I nod resolutely and concentrate on Mr. Rawl's reiki--or youki rather, as I now know that that is what it is.

Entering someone's mind is a very strange feeling; one that I'll probably never get used too. It basically feels like I'm sending a tendril of my mind across the space in-between us and into my "victim's" core. I've practiced this many times, mainly on ningens. However, I don't like to do it very often, as I really don't like to look into people's minds. But don't get me wrong; it's not a moral issue at all. It's just that...well...let's just say that it can be creepy to see what's going through some people's minds. I shiver slightly before pushing that thought away and focusing on Mr. Rawl again.

As the "tendril" of my mind reaches Mr. Rawl's core, I gently push it in and frown slightly. From what Jason has told me, a youkai's mental shield acts as a sort of wall around a youkai's core and only a more powerful youkai can break through that wall. However, whenever I enter someone's mind, there is nothing there blocking me. I simply enter.

As I penetrate Mr. Rawl's mind, I feel the familiar feeling of being sucked in that comes when entering anyone's mind. It's almost like getting to close to a whirlpool; while it's certainly possible to get out, its almost safer and easier to just go along for the ride. And so I simply submit myself to the feeling and quickly find my subconscious within Mr. Rawl's own.

**(1)**Through time and training, I've learnt that each person's mind is alike yet different. All people--and demons--have their minds organized by halls. Depending on the age and experience a person has, the longer the halls are, but the halls are always filled with doors. These doors hold the different memories of the person, usually in order from when they were born, up until where they are now in life. Farther down the halls of their mind is their subconscious, which is usually where their thoughts are.

What makes each person's mind different from the next is how the halls of their mind looks. This usually reflects what a person is really like deep down in their souls. As I glance around Mr. Rawl's mind, I can see that this is definitely true. Mr. Rawl's mind almost seems like an ice cavern, with thousands of icicles hanging down. But really, what else should I have expected from an ice youkai?

With a slight sigh at the freezing temperature of the halls around me, I quickly begin to travel forward though the halls, knowing from experience that if I keep moving forward I'll reach Mr. Rawl's subconscious no matter what.

After a little bit of walking, I finally reach a large door at the end of the hallway and eye it warily; it seems to be made completely of ice. Grumbling slightly under my breath, I remember exactly what this is. You see, all youkai have a room just before their subconscious. This room usually shows the youkai's powers. For example, if the demon is elemental, there will be something reflecting the element that the youkai controls. If the youkai is an animal type, then there will be something representing that animal. Usually, there are also other objects in the room--which I have come to call the Youkai Room--that show other skills of the youkai.

Knowing that I have to continue forward to get to Mr. Rawl's subconscious, I slowly reach out and grab the ice handle on the door, shiver at its coldness, and yank the door open. The door slides open easily and I quickly enter, hearing the door slam shut behind me.

As with everywhere else in Rawl's mind, the room is lit with a dim glow, though there is nothing to produce the light. This seems to be true in the minds of all ningen and youkai as well. This Youkai Room corresponds with the rest of Mr. Rawl's mind in the fact that it is also freezing cold and has frozen icicles hanging from the ceiling as well as some coming up from the frozen floor.

In the center of the room are several floating objects. The first of these is a frozen...ice cube? I can't help but sweatdrop; that certainly is...original... The next object is a purple eye**(2)** that I've come to recognize as the symbol for psychics. I guess that that represents Mr. Rawl's training with telepathy. The third and final object is a shied made from solid ice. This represents that Mr. Rawl specializes in defense. Hmm, I hadn't known that...but then again, I only just did find out that Mr. Rawl was a demon.

Realizing that I was just standing there staring, I quickly begin to make my way past the floating objects and toward the large ice door, identical to the one I had just come out of, that was on the other side of the room. Yanking it open, I enter Mr. Rawl's subconscious.

And what does his subconscious look like? A large stone room that could easily fit my entire school inside its walls. Offhandedly, I marvel at the fact that, unlike the rest of Mr. Rawl's mind, this room has not a spec of ice in it. Never once does the fact that the entire room is empty cross my mind. All of the subconscious's I've come across are like this. I just have to complete one more step to fully access Mr. Rawl's subconscious.

Without even really thinking about what I'm doing, as I've done this countless times before, I detach a piece of my subconscious and leave it in Mr. Rawl's, before pulling the rest of me out and back into my own mind. Now that the link has been established, I send a "pulse" through the link to Mr. Rawl, and begin to speak to him mentally.

'**_Hello?_**' I say tentatively.

Mr. Rawl blinks, surprised. '**_You're already in? I only told you to start less than a second ago(3)!_**'

I grin and sheepishly rub the back of my head. '**_Eh, yeah,_**' I reply. '**_It never really seems to take much time. I guess it is kind of surprising._**'

'**_Surprising? This is incredible! I only asked you to read my surface thoughts--which you shouldn't have even had the ability to by the way--and yet you were able to go straight past that and form a mental connection! My mental shields are strong enough to keep out even some of the most powerful youkai, but I didn't even feel you brush against mine!_**'

'**_Er, yeah..._**' I cough lightly, slightly embarrassed.

Suddenly, the look on Mr. Rawl's face changes from that of shock and slight awe, to complete seriousness with a bit of curiosity. '**_I need you to describe to me exactly what you did so that we can figure this out._**'

I nod in understanding before going in detail about what I did, from the "tendril" of my mind to the halls of Mr. Rawls mind. As I finish up, Mr. Rawl stares at the floor in contemplation, his face completely unreadable.

"Interesting," he mutters, speaking out loud for the first time since he told me to start. "I've never heard of anything like this; especially suck a visual aspect of the mind. Then again, it could be a byproduct of being of so many different breeds of youkai."

I shrug lightly, having no idea myself, before suddenly grinning, allowing my elongated canines to poke over my bottom lip. "So, what training are we going to be doing?"


	22. Chapter 21: Oh Shit

A/N: ...It's been months, hasn't it? I apologize deeply for this. It's from a wide range of things, including a major bout of writer's block, overload of work from school, and problems contacting my beta reader. I've got a temporary beta reader for now though, so thanks to AnimeGirl329 for helping me out! And if me taking forever isn't bad enough this chapter is fairly short (ish) and the ending...well I think it's fairly safe to say that you'll all hate me for it. The next chapter should be out in not to long though.

There's one last thing I want to go into however. Well, thing_s_ actually. The main part of the story--and the part where the action and fighting is--is coming up soon, so I want to clear a few things up with the main characters. First of all, Kristy, Jessie, and Chris are all 2nd year high school students. This is equivalent to 11th grade in America. Kristy is 17 years old now, Jessica is 16, and Chris is 17 (this is because Kristy's birthday is in October and Chris's is in January, while Jessie's is in May--remember, when the story started it was in the beginning of the school year--which is about August--and they were all 16). The Spirit Detectives are similar ages and are in the same grade/year. Also, Jason is 21 now. Currently, it's February/March in the story. (In case you're wondering, I'm telling you this to give everyone a better feel for exactly where the story and there characters are now.)

Also, I think I should explain a bit more about the characters basic heritages, to remind you and in case you didn't pick it up in the story. Chris was born in the Makai, as were his parents. For reasons currently unknown, Chris's father fled from his clan to the Ningenkai with Chris when Chris was just a baby/toddler. Chris's mother is dead, though the exact circumstances of her death are also currently unknown. Chris is a full-blooded ice youkai.

Jessica is half angel and half human. She was adopted when she was a baby and has absolutely no idea who her parents are. Her adoptive parents are human and have no idea as to what she is or that angel and demons even exist. She stumbled upon her heritage/abilities/other form one day by accident. Somehow (Kristy currently doesn't know the exact details) she found out about what Chris was and he found out about her. They both though that Kristy and her brother were completely human until the day when Rhurac attacked them (chapter 10).

Kristy and Jason are both full-blooded youkai. Kristy is 1/4 psychic youkai, 1/4 fire youkai, 1/4 darkness youkai, and 1/4 wolf youkai. She only has abilities corresponding to each part of her heritage, though her wolf blood only really manifests in her appearance (and it heightens all of her senses, even when she's in her ningen form). Jason is 1/2 wind youkai and 1/2 psychic youkai. We have yet to see his youkai form or any of his abilities. Kristy and Jason's father was Rei. He was 1/2 fire youkai and 1/2 darkness youkai. Their mother was Shantel. She was 1/2 wind youkai and 1/2 psychic youkai.

Finally, you have probably noticed that Kristy, Jessica, Chris, Jason, and Shantel's names are American rather than Japanese. This isn't just a goof on my part, there is an actually reason for it. It'll probably revealed/explained in a few chapters.

Phew! That's a lot! I hope it explained/cleared up some things though. Read and review please! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

(1) - I originally got the idea for this from Icy Phoenix's story "What Happened to my Life" (which, by the way, is an awesome story that you should check out). Of course, I have changed the idea around a lot to fit this story better, but it still was inspired by her, so thanks to her!  
(2) - I've found proof of this in the cannon! In chapter 44 (volume 5, page 193 if you want to be exact) of the YYH manga, a character (youkai) comments that "...we're tied to our human identities." And those same characters can switch back between human and youkai forms! So the whole "having both a ningen and a youkai form" thing isn't just some idea that I came up with (although it was originally), but is actually correct and possible in the YYH world. Yay me!

"Talking"  
_'Thinking'  
__**'Telepathy'**_

**Thanks to my beta reader, Kyogue!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 21  
_Oh Shit_

* * *

"Well," Mr. Rawl replies slowly. "We were going to work on your telepathy, but, honestly, I don't think that there's really anything that I, or anyone, can teach you. Your abilities are far different from any psychic I've every met, and you're only one fourth psychic youkai! I'll look into that with some contacts of mine anyway, and see what I can find out about this situation. For now then, I guess we'll just move onto the next subject that I was going to teach you. It's called astro-projection**(1)**."

"Astro-what?"

Mr. Rawl sweatdrops. "Astro-projection," he repeats. "It's the 'art', if you will, of projecting your soul from your body. This makes your body appear to be dead in every way. Also, if your soul is away from your body for to long, your body will actually die, so the technique is really dangerous."

"...Then what's the upside to the technique?" I ask. "It doesn't seem to really do much."

"Well," Mr. Rawl sighs. "There may not be too many uses for it, but it can still be a pretty good trick as an ace up your sleeve. Its main use is to "high-jack", if you will, another person's mind and take over their body."

My eyes widen at that; it actually seems pretty cool! "Alright!" I say, grinning insanely. "How do I start?"

"Well," Mr. Rawl begins, a contemplative look on his face. "Usually it requires intense mediation for a few weeks in order to even be able to grasp the technique, but you'll probably be a special case." He suddenly looks at me, obviously having come to a decision. "Here's how it'll go," he says, shifting slightly on the floor. "I'll instruct you on what to do as we go. You'll be within your own mind though, so I'll have to keep in contact with you telepathically while you progress."

I nod in reply, eager to begin learning this new technique. '**_No problem,_**' I reply telepathically. '**_It doesn't take too much concentration; Jay has made sure of that._**' I roll my eyes at the last part, remembering how one of Jason's training exercises had been for me to be sparring with Jason while reading Jessica's thoughts.

'**_Good,_**' Mr. Rawl says. '**_Now, first, close your eyes._**' I comply, still incredibly excited. '**_Next, I want you to do what you did with me to enter my mind, but do it with yourself. Enter the "halls" of your mind._**'

I nod absentmindedly, focusing on my own youkai core. Unlike when enter others' minds, I find that entering my own is easier. I suppose it might be because I don't have to send a portion of myself out and into them, but instead just concentrate on pulling myself into...myself. It certainly sounds strange, now that I really think about it, but it's how it works.

Whatever the reason, I soon find myself within my own mind. Opening my eyes to see my, surrounding I am immediately taken aback. I have been in many different minds--both human and otherwise--but one thing that they've always had in common is that the halls are made of solid walls. This doesn't seem to be the case with myself. The walls seem to be made of shadows. Yes, shadows. They are pitch black with purple mixed in are constantly swirling around. The only place that they seem to part is around the doors. However, when I do rest my hand against the shadowy walls, I find that they are firm and solid to the touch, yet strangely smooth.

'_Weird,_' I think. I can only guess that the shadow walls and the purple coloring mixed into them represent my shadow youkai and psychic youkai blood. Stepping away from the wall, I find myself surprised again when the ground under my feet rustles. Glancing down, I see that I am standing on grass. At once I realize that it must be the representation of my ookami youkai blood. But then what about my fire youkai blood? '_The temperature,_' I quickly reason. '_It must be the temperature._' Indeed the temperature was stifling hot, though I could barely feel it, being mostly impervious to heat.

'**_Kristy-chan?_**' a voice suddenly comes, nearly making me jump before I realized that it is only Mr. Rawl. '**_Are you in?_**'

'**_Yep! I had no problem._**'

**_'Good. Now what I need you to do is get to that "subconscious room" that you told me about.'_**

I begin to nod before I remember that Mr. Rawl can't see me. '**_Sure,_**' I quickly reply. '**_I'll let you know as soon as I'm there._**'

I continue down the hall then at a brisk pace, knowing that I had wasted enough time admiring my mind. My halls were comparatively short compared to Mr. Rawls, but then he had lived hundred of years more than me, so it wasn't really all that surprising. None the less, it was only a good thing in this case, since I soon found myself at the end of the hall in front of the door to my Youkai Room. This door, while larger than the rest, still looks basically the same as the memory ones. It does seem to be a slightly darker shade of black, but I suppose that that is just because of the door's importance. Shrugging off my pointless observations, I reach out to the handle and yank the door open before stepping inside.

Like in all other youkai minds, I find myself standing before the floating objects that represent abilities. The first four that really stand out are obviously symbols for my blood: a floating flame for fire, the purple eye for psychic, a howling wolf's head for my ookami blood, and, strangely enough, a shapeless black blob for shadows. The blob was constantly shifting around and seemed to be made of the same stuff as the walls, though it was pure black. Next to these for were a katana, a shoe, a human face, and a...red moon? I have no idea about the last one, but I can figure out the meanings for the others.

The katana stands for my proficiency with said blade. I am far from being an expert in the art, but Jason's harsh training regimen over the past few months has definitely brought me to the level of proficient. I can't help but snort as I think back to my first few days with wielding the weapon and how crude I can now tell that my control over it was. Ah well, I guess that just shows how much I've progressed.

The shoe more than likely stands for my speed. While I certainly am not exceptionally fast, my style focuses on speed and agility more than attack, defense, or power.

The human face is for my ability to switch back in forth between ningen and youkai forms. I am tied to my human identity**(2)**, so it makes sense that a representation for said form and ability would be here. I also know that Jason, Chris, and Jessica all have this symbol as well, so that backs up my theory.

The last one, the blood red moon, completely confuses me. Usually I am pretty good at figuring out these symbols since they tend to be fairly straight forward. This one, however, has me completely stumped. I have no abilities that in any way relate to a moon, especially a red one. I also have no idea what else it could stand for.

Glaring uneasily at the floating moon I make my way across the room. As I reach the door to my Subconscious Room I push my thoughts about this strange phenomenon into the back of my mind so that I can look it over later when I actually have _time_ to do so.

My Subconscious Room is just like the rest of mind in that it has the strange shadow walls. The room is also large and completely empty, just like all Subconscious Rooms.

'**_Alright, Mr. Rawl,_**' I say. '**_I'm in the Subconscious Room._**'

'**_Good, that was fast,_**' he sends back. '**_What I need you to do next is look around the room. Can you see anything out of the ordinary? Anything at all?_**'

'**_Hmm...It's completely empty. I can't see anythi- Wait! There's a small door on the other side of the room!_**' I suddenly say, noticing something. '**_It's really difficult to see 'cause it blends in so well, but it's there._**'

'**_That should be it then!_**'

'**_Eh? You know what it is?_**'

Even with my eyes closed, I can somehow tell that Mr. Rawl is nodding. '**_Yes,_**' he answers. '**_It should be the door to your true subconscious._**'

'**_...I think you've lost me...Aren't I already in my subconscious?_**'

'**_You are, but it's not where your subconscious actually is._**'

Mr. Rawl sighs. '**_Just go through the door and you'll see what I mean._**'

Grumbling under my breath I comply, crossing the large room towards the small door exactly opposite the one I had come in through. The trek is relatively long, but that's more so probably due to my impatience. None the less, I'm soon standing before the small door.

'_It seems...darker...than all of the other doors,_' I think to myself quietly. '_It's as if it's sucking in all the light that comes near it._'

Hesitantly, I reach out towards the door and touch the handle. Despite my apprehension though, nothing happens. The handle feels just like the ones all the others doors in my mind. Taking in a deep breath I quickly yank the door open and am promptly blinded by bright flash of white. When I am finally able to blink away the black spots swimming in my vision, I am shocked by what I see.

I am back outside of my mind, but almost seem to be just floating in the air and have no real tangible body to speak of. Lying beneath me, collapsed on the floor, is my body. And it's not breathing.

'_Oh shit!_'


	23. Chapter 22: Out of Body Experiences

A/N: ...Um, yeah, it's been a while again hasn't it (**sweatdrops**) I'm really _really_ sorry about that, but I've been insanely busy lately. Also, a while back, I got sick with strep throat and then the flu with only about a week between them! (**glares randomly at a wall**) I missed over two weeks of school (**cries**) And then, just over a month ago, I moved. And I'm still not completely unpacked...(**sighs**)

Well, anyways, after this, chapters will be coming faster and I really mean it this time. I already have through chapter 26 finished (**grins**) Plus, I'm out of school now (**cheers**) so I'll have a lot more time.

As a last note, I'm once again in need of a beta since mine has disappeared again (**sighs**) More details are posted in a "chapter" after this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
_'Thinking'  
__**'Telepathy'**_

**Thanks so much to BattleStations for editing this chapter for me!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 22

_Out of Body Experiences_

* * *

'_Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit!_' was the only thing going through my mind as I stared at my motionless body in horror. Something must have gone terribly, horribly wrong. _'What am I going to do? I can't die now! Not in the middle of all of this! What about Jay, Chris, and Jessica?_'

'_**-ty!**_'

'_What about Hiei, Yusuke, Kiara, Suiichi, and even Kuwabara! How the hell am I going to get myself out of this mess!_'

'_**-isty! Kristy!**_'

With a jerk, I abruptly realized that someone was mentally calling me. '_**...Rawl-san?**_' I asked tentatively, breaking out from my panicked state for a moment.

'_**Yes!**_' he said, exasperation clear in his voice. I looked over to him just in time to see him roll his eyes. '_**Finally! I've been calling you for a while now!**_'

That sentence reminded me of what had just happened and reignited my panic. '_**Rawl-san!**_' I gasp. '_**What happened?! What went wrong?! Am I dead?!**_'

Mr. Rawl simply chuckled in reply. '_**No, child, everything has gone just as it should have. I suppose I forgot to mention that another of the effects of this technique is that you can "play dead"--and quite literally I might add, considering your body will not breathe and have no pulse. However, you must not stay out of your body for more than 5-10 minutes, otherwise you **_**will**_** die,**_' he warned.

I grumble slightly under my breath, annoyed at what Mr. Rawl had "forgotten" to tell me, but understanding the gravity of this technique. '_**Is there anything else I need to know about it?**_'

'_**Yes, actually,**_' Mr. Rawl answers. '_**You must never use this technique except as a last resort. The reason for this is because it uses an extreme amount of energy to keep up. In fact, you will probably be exhausted by the time you return to your body.**_'

'_**But...why? I'm not exerting any energy right now!**_'

'_**It may not seem likeit, but your body is in fact "feeding" off of your energy as we speak, in order to keep itself alive. That's the only reason why your body didn't die the second you left it, and why you'll be able to return to it eventually. Also, you will feel a slight tug when your body's energy is getting low. Think of it as a sort of automatic warning to return quickly.**_'

I being to nod before remembering that Mr. Rawl can't see me and then reply verbally, '_**Okay, I got that. Now, what next?**_'

'_**Next I teach you how to enter another person's body,**_' says Mr. Rawl. '_**This might be a little different--and probably easier--for you, considering the strange way your psychic abilities work. First what you're going to do is come over to me and stare straight into my eyes. Let me know when you've done that, since I can't see you.**_'

I complied, floating over to the older ice youkai--and realizing in the process what a strange feeling floating through the air is--and staring straight into said youkai's chocolate brown eyes as I had been instructed. Offhandedly I also noticed that there were small flecks of light blue floating around within his irises. They're nearly unnoticeable except at this close proximity. I wonder if Chris' eyes are the same way...

'_**'Kay, I'm ready,**_' I say after a moment more of random contemplation.

'_**Good. Now, do you remember how you described to me how you reached out a portion of yourself to enter my mind?**_'

'_**...Yeah...**_'

'_**Well now I want you to do the same thing, only with all of yourself instead of just "tendrils". Try it now.**_'

'_**Mmm,**_' I replied, processing the information before trying out what Mr. Rawl had explained to me.

I feel the familiar feeling of being sucked in and, in the time it takes to blink, find myself once again standing within the halls of Mr. Rawl's mind. However, there's something different this time that I just can't quite put my finger on. It all seems more vivid, more real. I can hear the ice crunching beneath my feet and feel a wind brushing past, biting into my skin.

'_**Rawl-san,**_' I whisper. I hear my voice echo through the icy halls, even though I hadn't spoken out loud. Mr. Rawl doesn't answer. I shiver, half from the coldness of this gloomy place, half from the prickling feeling running down my spine. Suddenly the shadows and the icicles are much more intimidating, looming over me.

Abruptly, I mentally slap myself. What is wrong with me?! I'm a youkai for goodness sake! Not to mention that I'm possibly the first youkai with four elements ever! I'm not going to be scared by some stupid icicles in someone's mind! Was I afraid when a horde of cockroaches infested our kitchen? No! Was I afraid when a serial killer was spotted across the street from our house? No! Was I afraid when a semi-truck was roaring towards me at 60 mph?

...Okay, yeah, that incident nearly gave me a heart attack...

But that's not the point! I will NOT be afraid of a bunch of stupid inanimate icicles! I will move on and continue my training with this strange, screwed up, terrifying--No! Not terrifying! Not terrifying! Un-terrifying!--technique. I shall prevail!

...Okay, enough with the weird motivational speeches, I'm just going to get moving. And so I do just that, walking forward with a new bounce of determination in my step. Not two minutes later I find once again myself standing before a large ice door. I breeze past it, through the Youkai Room, and into the Conscious Room. What shocks me however is that there is another door on the other side of the massive room. The door far too large and imposing for me to have missed it the last time I was here.

As I begin to slowly approach the strange door, a thought enters my mind. What if the door's there because I'm fully here right now instead of just a portion of myself? That would certainly make sense, as well as explain what why Mr. Rawl had me leave my own body before coming here.

Breathing in deeply one last time, I reach out and grip the handle and slowly pull the door--which is surprisingly heavy--open. Once it is fully open I'm faced with a pitch black doorway. None of the strange artificial light lit up the doorway--if anything it seems to suck the light in, making the area even darker. I take another deep breathe and take a step into the unknown darkness.

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

(A/N: (**grins**) I so feel like just ending the chapter here, but that'd be too short and I want to get to the tournament in just a few more chapters. Besides, I'm not _that_ cruel...(**coughs inconspicuously**))

I'm standing in the middle of a lighted room (though how it could be lighted without me seeing through the doorway is completely beyond me), but that's not what's shocking me the most. No, what has truly caught my attention the most was the large TV-like screen in the front of the room. The view it was showing at the moment was my dead-looking body.

I gape at the screen. '_**...That...**_' I murmur out loud. '_**...That must be what Mr. Rawl is seeing through his owns eyes...**_'

Abruptly I notice that there's an office chair sitting in front of the screen...And in the chair is Mr. Rawl!

'_**Mr. Rawl!**_' I cry out in relief, running over to him. '_**Thank Kami! When I lost mental contact with you I didn't know what to think!**_' Strangely enough however, Mr. Rawl doesn't answer me. He doesn't even acknowledge me. '_**Hello?**_' I call out, waving a hand in front of his face. '_**Anybody home?**_' He doesn't even blink. '_**...Well crap...**_'

I sigh, letting my face rest in my hands. Isn't this turning out to be a just _wonderful_ experience? I sigh again and put one hand on the office chair, leaning slightly on it. It turns out that office chairs with unresponsive people in them are not the steadiest things however, and the chair immediately went sliding, sending Mr. Rawl sprawling out of it and onto the floor. His head meets the floor with a resounding crack and the large screen in front of me goes black

I stand frozen in wide-eyed shock for a moment, my hand suspended in mid air where the chair arm had been not seconds before. '_Ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck!_'

Quickly I snap out of my shock however, and rush over to Mr. Rawl's side. '_**Mr. Rawl!**_' I cry out, shaking him gently. '_**Are you okay!**_' The older ice youkai doesn't respond and his eyes are closed. He still has a pulse however and so seems to just be unconscious. I sigh in relief.

I blink slightly and turn to the now dark screen. Is that showing that Mr. Rawls unconscious in the outside world as well? Well, this _is_ supposed to be his true consciousness, so is this what controls him? Is this room his true...mind? Abruptly me eyes light up with an idea. I'm supposed to be learning how to take over people, right? So I might as well attempt to do just that.

I quickly, yet carefully, drag Mr. Rawls body across the room and lean it against the wall. I then go over and pick up the chair and drag over to where it originally was in front of the large screen. I go to sit down in the chair, but pause.

'_Is this really such a good idea?_' I think. '_What if this does something bad or harmful?_' I pause for another moment before abruptly throwing all caution out the window. "_Ah, what the heck._' And thus I immediately plop down into the chair.

The second I'm sitting I suddenly feel drawn into something. Before I can even blink, I'm suddenly drawn into the real world. The thing is...I'm still staring at my own body.

"...Weird..." I say out loud and abruptly freeze. That hadn't been my own voice! It was deep and masculine, and sounded just like...Mr. Rawl! I gasp and bring a hand up to my face, only to stop in mid air. Yep, that was definitely Mr. Rawls hand. "...Weird..." I repeat, waving my hand in front of my face. Slowly--almost carefully--I stand up, testing out my new body. It felt really weird. It was like a new pair of shoes; you're familiar with the basic feeling--since all shoes feel at least generally the same--but there was a completely different and new feeling as well. I know that it'd probably take me a while to get used to my new body...but, then, it wasn't like I was going to be staying like this for very long.

Abruptly, just as I'm walking around, getting used to suddenly being over six feet tall, as compared to my meager 5 foot 1, a strange feeling comes over me. It felt like something was tugging at my soul. My eyes quickly widen; this must be what Mr. Rawl had been talking about before. I have a brief moment of panic, wondering how the hell I'm supposed to get back into Mr. Rawl and back into my body. What would happen if my body runs out of energy before I'm able to return!

It is then that there is suddenly another tug on my soul, but this one is much _sharper_ than all of the others--more like a rough jerk. Before I even have time to blink in surprise I abruptly find myself floating in the air again, outside of Mr. Rawl's body. I sigh in relief, shaking my nonexistent head of the strangeness of this whole situation, and quickly head back into my own body.

* * *

A few minutes later Mr. Rawl and I are walking back down the hallway to the Rawls' living room and, true to Mr. Rawl's words, I was exhausted. Who knew that the mind arts would take so much energy! The whole Astro-projection thing had apparently gone the way it was supposed to though, and Mr. Rawl had returned to consciousness about the same time that I had. He still wasn't quite sure as to why we lost mental contact once I got to his true subconscious, but he had figured that something similar would happen so neither of us were really worried.

As we walked into the living room I am surprised to see that while Chris, Touya, and Jin are all sitting around and talking amiably--well at least Chris and Jin were; Touya was just kind of staring at the wall--perhaps he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open or something?--my brother Jason was no where to be seen. I immediately question Chris about this.

"Dunno," Chris answers with a shrug. "He left a while ago in his car. He didn't say where he was going."

'_That bastard!_' I think, my eye twitching. '_He left me!_' I immediately start grumbling under my breath. He probably considers this to be a part of my "training" or something. I quickly push my irritation down, however, and bid goodbye to everyone, assuring Mr. Rawl that I would return in a week to continue my psychic training with him like we'd agreed. I then hurriedly walked out of the house and start down the street; it was already getting pretty late and, since it was still winter, it would be getting pretty cold soon. It was very fortunate that it was still an hour or so until sunset.


	24. Chapter 23: Memories

A/N: See? I said that I'd start updating a lot more frequently (**grins**) Anyways, I'm getting excited because the tournament arc of the story begins in the next chapter! This chapter is purely, as the title says, about memories. Enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister. The song "Me Against the World" belongs to Simple Plan.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - For all of you Americans--like me--out there, primary school is basically the same as elementary school.  
(2) - Again to you Americans, secondary school is like middle school/junior high school.  
(3) - In Japanese, Onii-san is the respectful term for older brother.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Seer Vixion!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 23  
_Memories_

* * *

It was only about a half an hour later when, surprisingly, I found myself walking by my old primary school**(1)**. I blinked, startled, and slowed down to a halt in front by the chain link fence in front of the playground. Immediately, unwanted and forgotten memories forced their way to the surface of my mind. I grimaced; things were so different back then, back before I had even met Jessica and Chris--we had met in secondary school**(2)**. Back then my parents hadn't been dead for even five years, and it was still a sore spot for me, despite the fact that I had been too young to really remember what they were like before they died. No, before they were _killed_.

_**--Flashback--**_

_Hesitantly I walked out over to the swings and sat down. I didn't recognize anyone around me and so just sat quietly on the swing, staring at the sand beneath me. Only a few minutes later, however, I became aware of a whispering group of young girls, about my age, not a few feet away. The fact that every now and then would throw a quick glance at me__cued me in to the fact that I was the subject of their whispers, but then again__ they weren't exactly keeping their voices too low either._

_**We're not gonna be  
Just apart of their game  
We're not gonna be  
Just the victims  
They're taking our dreams  
And they tear them apart  
Til everyone's the same  
**_

_"Is that her?"_

_"The one with the weird blue eyes?"_

_"Yeah, I think it is!"_

_"I've heard that she's so weird!"_

_"They say that she doesn't have any friends."_

_"Yeah, just look at her! I mean, she's just sitting there all alone!"_

_"What a weirdo!"_

_Abruptly, the small group seemed to become aware that I was watching them. They shied away for a moment, avoiding eye contact, until one girl finally gathered the courage to step forward. She had short dark brown hair and black eyes, much like most of the other girls._

_**I've got no place to go  
I've got no where to run  
They love to watch me fall  
They think they know it all**_

_She turned her nose up snobbishly at me. "What are you looking at?" she snapped. I blinked, slightly surprised at her hostility._

_"U-umm," I stuttered, but face heating up._

_"What?" the girl said, sneering. The other girls behind her seemed to gain nerve from her and stepped up to support her. A few exclamations of "Yeah, what!" came from them. "Do you have a problem with us?" the snobbish girl continued._

_"N-no!" I replied, shrinking in on myself and flinching away from the gazes of the girls._

_The lead girl sneered again and the group proceed to jeer at me--mostly on pointless topics like my lack of friends or how my eyes were different. I tried my best to block it out, but a comment from one girl--I wasn't sure which, the group seemed more like a blob of voices that a group of individual people--really stuck me deeply._

_"I heard you've got no parents!"_

_**I'm a nightmare, a disaster  
That's what they always say  
I'm a lost cause, not a hero  
But I'll make it on my own  
I've gotta prove them wrong  
Me against the world  
It's me against the world  
**_

_I immediately flinched away again, turning my face from the ground. Because of this however, I missed the triumphant glint that had suddenly lit up the lead girl's eyes._

_"Oh? So it's true?" the girl smirked. "You really don't have any parents? Heh, they probably left you. They couldn't stand looking at you everyday. They were probably too ashamed that someone like you was their daughter!"_

_I flinched at each word, attempting to draw into myself even more and wishing with every fiber of my being that I could just disappear at that moment. Nonetheless, however, I somehow managed to stutter out, "Sh-sh-shut up! My parents didn't leave me! They died in an accident!"_

_A few over the girl's flinched and looked away; they obviously hadn't known anything about what had actually happened to my parents. Despite this however, the lead girl just continued smirking, not an ounce of sympathy in her face. "They wanted to get away from you that much?"_

_**We won't let them change  
How we feel in our hearts  
We're not gonna let them control us  
We won't let them shove  
All their thoughts in our heads  
And we'll never be like them**_

_I flinched again--not even noticing how much I had been doing that--and found that my mouth wouldn't let me reply._

_The girl continued on, not noticing or just completely ignoring the pained look on my face. "I heard that you have a brother too," she said, almost carelessly. "I'm shocked that he hasn't left too. But then, he's probably too much of a moron; he'd have to be if he stays within two feet of you." I opened my mouth to defend Jason, but the snobby girl just plowed right on. "It's no matter though; he'll probably get himself killed too, soon."_

_At that moment__something snapped within me and I found my face heating up again, though this time from anger rather than embarrassment. "Shut up!" I snarled, leaping from my seat on the swing, all previous nervousness forgotten. "Don't you dare talk about my Onii-san__**(3) **__that way!"_

_**I've got no place to go  
I've got no where to run  
They love to watch me fall  
They think they know it all**_

_The lead girl was so startled by my sudden outburst that she stumbled backwards, eyes wide, and tripped over her own feet and fell onto her butt. I continued to glare down at her, my fists clenching and unclenching, while she and the other girls just stared at me, completely shocked by my sudden outburst. Of course, it was at that moment, when we were in that position, that a teacher suddenly swooped down on us._

_"What's going?" she questioned. "What happened?"_

_The lead girl was snapped out of her shock and she continued to stare at me for a moment before abruptly bursting into tears. She raised up a shaking hand and pointed at me, sniffing through her sobs, "She pushed me!"_

_I immediately lost my angry composer and gaped at the wailing girl. What was she talking about! I hadn't even touched her!_

_**I'm a nightmare, a disaster  
That's what they always say  
I'm a lost cause, not a hero  
But I'll make it on my own  
I'm gonna prove them wrong  
It's me against the world  
Me against the world**_

_Unfortunately, the girl wasn't done, "I was just asking her if she wanted to play with us, and she just stood up and pushed me!"_

_The teacher quickly tried to soothe the crying girl, while glaring at me. "Miss Walker!" she snapped. "You should know better that! She was just treating you kindly!" I gaped at the woman. Kindly? She was saying that the snobbish girl's actions were kindly? I was in such a state of shock that I didn't even notice that the woman was next to me until I felt a strong grip on my wrist. She was ranting to me about behaving better as she started to drag towards the school building. She paused after a few feet and glanced back over her shoulder at the snobbish girl--who was currently being surrounded by the gaggle of girls that had been with her--and a gentle look came over her face. "I'll be back in just a moment__s__, dear," she said. She then glanced back down at me and her face hardened again. "Come along," she snapped._

_**Now I'm sick of this waiting  
So come on and take your shot  
You can spit all your insults  
But nothing you say is gonna change us  
You can sit there and judge me  
Say what you want to  
We'll never let you in  
**_

_As she continued to drag me away, I glanced back at the girls and saw the lead girl smirking cruelly at me, no sign of tears on her face._

_**--End Flashback--**_

I let out a deep sigh and turned away from the school. While my times in primary school hadn't been particularly...fun...that had taught me a lot, not the least of which was how to stand up for myself. Who knows how I would have turned out, had I not changed. I snorted at that thought; that's something that I would pay to see.

_**I'm a nightmare, a disaster  
That's what they always said  
I'm a lost cause, not a hero  
But I'll make it on my own  
Me against the world  
**_

As I began walking again, wanting to get out of view from the school, my thoughts turned to my two best friends. It was years later, when I first started secondary school, when I first met Chris and Jessica. The three of us had hit it off instantly, despite our differences. And here we were many years later, still very close friends. Not to mention that now we had a new group of friends who were quickly becoming just as close to me and Jessie and Chris were. Finally, of course, there was my dear elder brother Jay, who, despite the ass that he was sometimes, was someone that I loved dearly. He had always been there for, and was even more so now that he was training me for the Kuro Tournament.

At that train of thought I sped up my pace. Even more so now that the tournament was coming up, I had to protect my friends and family. They were all that I had, and I would do _anything_ to keep them from harm.

_**We'll never fall in line  
I'll make it on my own  
Me against the world**_


	25. Chapter 24: Through the Portal

A/N: ...I must say that I'm fairly disappointed. I received one single review for the last chapter. _One_. That's really sad, especially considering that there were over 30 views. I understand that I've been gone for a while and am only just getting back into posting regularly, but really people, it doesn't take that much time to write a review; even a simple "good chapter" or "bad chapter" suffices, plus it motivates me to write more, longer chapters. (**sighs**) I certainly hope that I get more this chapter. Well, enjoy; the tournament arc finally starts in this chapter (**cheers**)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - This is the explanation that I mentioned in the A/N of the chapter 22. It is because her mother is American (though from the Makai) that Kristy and Jason's names are American. Also, since I don't think it'll be mentioned in the story, Jessica's name is American because her adoptive parents, who adopted her when she was a baby, are American and are the ones who named her.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my new beta reader, Seer Vixion**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 24  
_Through the Portal_

* * *

Like everyone else in the classroom, I am staring intensely at the clock on the wall opposite me. Tension is running so high that it feels like a thick cloak, wrapping around us and smothering us. Why are we staring at a clock you ask? Well, it is currently the last day of school and there are only seconds left until the final bell rings.

It's been several months since I first started my training with Mr. Rawl and I've been incredibly busy since then. I've had to juggle my training with Jason, my training with Mr. Rawl, keeping my grades up in school, and hanging out with my friends, all while making sure that nothing appears suspicious. I can't have them wondering why I'm so busy after all, because it'd lead to awkward questions that I'm not sure that I can answer; I'm fairly sure that they wouldn't react well to me telling them that I was a youkai, if they didn't just send me to the loony bin first.

Well, anyway, in the past few months my training had gone up a level as well. Both Jay and Mr. Rawl were working me to the bone, trying to increase my skill level for the upcoming tournament. Jin and Touya had trained with us as well, knowing that it would be best if we got to know each others' styles before the tournament. They also told us what they knew about the Dark Tournament that they had been in, so we now had at least a slight idea of what the Kuro Tournament would be like.

And speaking of the Kuro Tournament, said event is the exact reason why I am probably the tensest person in the classroom right now. Jason, Jessica, Chris, Touya, Jin, and I will all be leaving for the tournament today, only a few hours after school ends. I am nervous and excited for it all at the same time, making for a very strange--and nauseating--feeling in the bottom of my stomach.

_DING!_

'_Finally!_' I scream in my mind as I rush out the door and join to hordes of students rushing through the halls. In nearly no time at all I've gone through the front doors of the building and am heading over to the large oak tree that my friends and I always meet at, my backpack slung over one shoulder. I'm not at all surprised to find that everyone else is already there; it happens every day so I've come to expect it. It still annoys my however, considering that no matter how hard I try to get their first, no matter how much I rush, they _always_ get there before me. Even Yusuke and Kuwabara. Ugh.

"Hey, Kristy!" Yusuke calls, waving me over. I move and stand next to Jessica.

"Hey!" I greet, grinning. "I'm so glad that school is finally over!" Mumbles of agreement come from everyone in the group.

"So..." Chris starts out after a moment, sounding unsure. He is trying to find a way to bring up the fact that we'll be away for the summer, as we--Jessica, Chris, and I that is--knew that we obviously needed to tell the rest of our friends that'd we'd be gone. Tentatively, he continues, "What are you going to do this summer?"

The others exchange looks. "Um, well, actually..." Yusuke begins. "...We're going away on a trip this summer. Kuwabara, Suiichi, Hiei, Keiko, Kiara, and I, that is."

I immediately perk up, trying to hide a sigh of relief. "Really? That's cool; we are too."

The others blink in surprise. "You are?" Kuwabara asks.

Jessie, Chris, and I nod. "Mm-hmm," I answer. "We're going back to my homeland." I feel Jessie and Chris tense beside me, obviously wondering why I'm revealing this. I ignore them however, and continue on. "You see," I say. "Though my father was Japanese, my mother is from America**(1) **and I've never been there before."

I continued to smile at everyone, watching as they nodded in understanding. I was happy with the explanation I had just given. I didn't want to lie to my friends, and I hadn't; all I had said was that I was returning to my homeland and that my mother was from America. I never said anything about going to America, and instead am just letting them come to their own conclusions. This way I can give an excuse, without actually lying about what is going on. Beside me, Jessica and Chris grin as well.

"Well," Suiichi suddenly speaks up. "We had best be going. Our...plane...is scheduled to leave in just a few hours. Jessica, Chris, and I nod, knowing that we have to get going as well. And so the eight of us exchange goodbyes, telling each other to have a good vacation, before heading off in separate directions.

* * *

Not an hour later I'm sitting in the living room and mine and Jason's apartment, a duffle bag beside me. Jason, Touya, and Jin are there too, their bags beside them as well. Now all we're waiting for is for Jessica and Chris to arrive. And, of course, it is at that moment that the doorbell rings, signally my friends arrival. I leap to the door, quickly pulling it open and letting them inside.

As soon as they are seated in the living room we all turn to look at Jason. It is at that moment that I'm struck with realization. "Um," I begin, biting my lip. "Exactly how are we getting to the Kuro Tournament?"

Jason blinks and looks at me. "You're only just remembering to ask this now?"

I immediately feel my face heat up. "Hey, hey, hey!" I huff angrily. "I've been really busy with my training and everything!"

Jason just chuckles. He then notices that Chris and Jessica seem to be wondering how we'll get there as well, and so answers my previous question. "Well," he said, ignoring the glare I was still directing at him. "In the letter that we received from Bashere, through Rhurac, there were instructions as to how to get there." I nodded, cutting off my glare to listen to the explanation. Offhandedly, I also realized that I had never actually read the invitation that we had received; Jason had just told us what it said. "Well," my older brother continues. "Apparently, there will be a portal appearing here, in our living room, sometime soon. That's why I had everyone meet here at this time."

I nod again, as does everyone else, now understanding. For a moment I am confused about the portal though, as I had been told that only Koenma could make portals between the Makai and the Ningenkai, until I remember that Jason had said that very powerful youkai could create portals as well. And Bashere certainly would qualify as a very powerful youkai.

Abruptly, a feeling of intense youkai erupts from the center of the room. Acting upon instinct, all of us jump away, only to relax when a shimmering blue portal flickered into existence. Or at least partially relax; there is no way that we re fully trusting Bashere. After we are sure that nothing is going to come out of the portal, we pick up our bags and slowly approach it.

"I'll go through first," Jason tells us sternly. "Touya and Jin, you guys follow after me, then the rest of you."

We nod in agreement and then hold our breath as Jason cautiously steps up through portal and disappears. When nothing really out of the ordinary happens, we collectively let out a sigh, but are still tense. Slowly, Jin and Touya go through, followed my Jessica, Chris, and myself.

I stumble slightly as I suddenly find myself standing on grass, and am only able to get a passing glimpse of the portal behind me that I had just stepped through before it winks out of existence. Looking up, I see everyone else standing in front of me, all looking fine. The only thing is that Chris, Jessica, and Jason are all in their youkai forms (or in Jessie's case, angel form). Obviously, Jin and Touya have no human forms and thus haven't changed. Glancing down at myself, I see that I am as well. I suppose that going through the portal did that.

I then straighten up and glance around me. It seems like we're deep in a thick jungle. Gigantic trees surround us and lush foliage is everywhere. Even the grass we're standing on seems unusually thick. Strange sounds, unlike anything that I've ever heard before, fill the air.

'_So this is the Makai..._' I muse to myself. I wasn't quite sure what to think. This wasn't exactly what I had been expecting, but then again, exactly what had I been expecting? A desolate dying land with fires burning everywhere? I snort at that thought. '_This is the Makai,_' I remind myself. '_Not Hell._'

There is a paved path not five feet from where we are standing. Said path winds away toward what seems to be a large town. Though the buildings are slightly different from what I'm used to, they are still what humans would consider fairly modern and there are multitudes of them. Many figures--youkai probably--are walking around. Yep, definitely a town. Beyond the town however is a large building that appears to be a stadium.

A rough chuckling abruptly pulls me out of my reverie and I immediately tense up. I know that chuckle. Jerking up, I see a familiar green-skinned figure standing casually before us, right where the path to the town starts. All of us immediately move into defensive positions, but he makes no move to attack.

"Relax," Rhurac says, that insufferably cocky smirk on his face. "I'm just here to be your guide. I'm not going to attack you...yet..." His smirk widens. We slowly drop our stances, but none of us relaxes. If anything, we are even tenser than before. "Well, come on," Rhurac says as he turns toward the town. "All teams have a hotel suite to themselves." He then starts walking away, seemingly unconcerned as to whether or not we would follow him. All of us share a cautious look for a moment, before Jason starts walking after Rhurac. The rest of us take his lead and begin walking.

A few minutes of complete silence later we have entered the town. I am staring at everything, trying my best to hide my amazement. The main thing(s) that I am staring at are the youkai, walking around, completely ignoring us. It is shocking how diverse their appearances are. Some of them appear to be almost human, while others look more like the monsters and ogres that most ningens believe them to look like, and others still looked to be closer to the animal species than bipedal beings. Some have red skin, others have blue, some have horns, others tails, some walk on two legs, others on six. It truly is incredible.

Not long after we approach a fairly large building. It appears to have about 10 stories. I figure that it is the hotel, and am proven right when Rhurac leads us into it. Said green youkai walks up to what appears to be the reception desk and speaks to the purple haired woman with bat wings who is working there. After a moment he returns and hands Jason a bunch of keys.

"Here," he says gruffly. "These are the keys to your hotel suite. It's room 306 on the 5th floor. The Opening Ceremony begins tomorrow at 9AM. Be in the arena at that time."

Rhurac then walks out the door, completely ignoring us. We all share another glance between us before shrugging. Jason hands out the keys--one for each of us--and then we head to the nearby elevator. I couldn't help but feel slightly relieved at the fact that the Makai wasn't in the dark ages and did have electricity.

As soon as we exit the elevator--which was surprisingly roomy, especially for a group of our size--onto the fifth floor, we start down the wide hallway, following the room numbers on the doors. Soon enough, we come to room 306. Once we were all inside we were shocked by the size. We were currently standing in what appeared to be a large living room, with several comfortable looking couches and chairs. On the wall across from the door that we had just entered were three doors--the bedrooms. That works out perfectly for us, since it means that there will be just two to a room. On the side walls of this main living room are two other doors (one on each wall), each leading to what appears to be large bathrooms. This works out well as well since it means that Jessica and I will have our own bathroom and the guys with have the other.

Slowly, we all drift around the rooms, checking everything out and getting settled in. Jessie and I claim the bedroom on the left as our own, Touya and Jin claim the one on the right, and Chris and Jason take the one in the middle. Each bedroom has two beds, two wardrobes, two nightstands, and one window on the back wall. The window in mine and Jessie's room has a beautiful view of the jungle.

A few minutes later, after we're all settled and our stuff is put away, all of us drift back out into the living room. We all sit around and talk for a bit until, eventually, I start to get really bored.

"I'm going to go out and look around the hotel," I say as I stand up and begin to head for the door.

"Okay," Jason calls after me. "Just be back in an hour or so!" I wave over my shoulder, signaling that I'd heard him and then continue on through the door.

I slowly head down the hall towards the elevator, unsure as to where to go. I decide, however, that the lobby is the best place to start. From there I can work my way upwards through the hotel floors. I enter the large elevator and push the appropriate button. The ride goes by surprisingly quickly, and I soon find myself stepping out into the lobby. However, as soon as I do I freeze.

Standing there, in the middle of this hotel in the Makai, are Yusuke, Kuwabara, Suiichi, Hiei, and Kiara.


	26. Chapter 25: Revelations and Ceremonies

A/N: I'm happy to say the review turn out was much better than the last chapter, with 5 reviews. Still a pretty sad amount considering that, again, over 30 people read the chapter, but I guess you can't always expect the best (**shrugs**) Thanks to those whom did review though! (**hands those people a cookie**) Also, (and I know this is going to sound random) does anyone on here have an account on GaiaOnline(dot)com? If you do, I'm on there (and have been for well over a year (**sweatdrops**)) under the same name as my penname. If any of you are on there, PM sometime, letting me know (**grins**) Anyways, read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - A hanyou is half demon, half human.  
(2) - Want to know more about this? Read Yusuke'sSister's story  
(3) - In case this isn't quite clear, Jason's fingerless gloves are the normal ones, that just go up to the wrist, whereas Kristy's go to her elbows.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Seer Vixion!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 25  
_Revelations and Ceremonies_

* * *

I stand there for a moment, frozen in shock, before abruptly snapping out of my trance. I quickly dash around a corner--which thankfully is only a few feet away--and into a dark, deserted hallway. I lean against the wall there, panting, despite the fact that I hadn't actually run any distance. It was solely from shock.

None of this made any sense! How the hell could my friends be here?! They were all normal humans...Right? I pause my rambling thoughts and take a deep breath. '_Calm,_' I think to myself. '_I need to calm down. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this._'

Before I can think of what that explanation is however, my slowing down heart beat speeds up again as I hear a laughing voice coming near me from the lobby. It's Kiara's voice, I believe, and she seems to be mentioning something about heading toward the bathroom. I hold my breath anxiously and attempt to flatten myself against the wall behind me, while praying to whatever deities are out there that Kiara will just pass by the entrance to the hallway.

I find that I have no such luck however, as not two seconds later the young girl enters the hallway that I'm hiding in. She walks about five feet into said hallway, before finally noticing me and freezing in place. I stare at her with wide, and have no doubt that I probably look like deer in headlights. Kiara, however, just blinks in surprise at finding someone there. She is a bit nervous though, not that I can blame her; this _is_ the Makai after all.

"Erm," Kiara says awkwardly. "Do you, uh, know where the bathrooms are?"

"Um, I, er, uh..." I stutter incoherently, at a total loss of what to say. "...No...?" I say weakly, my wolf ears twitching as I stumble for words in my nervousness. "Sorry, I'm, um, kind of new here, Kiara."

"...Right," Kiara says, starting to turn away. "Um, well, thanks anyway- Hey!" Abruptly she spins back around to face me, a look of surprise on her face. "H-how do you know my name?!"

The deer in headlights look comes back onto my face. Crap. Had I really said her name out loud? "Uh-h..." I stutter. "...Well..." I pause for a moment and then sigh. It seems that there is nothing that I can do to get out of this. "...Kiara...It's me."

She stares at me for a moment in confusion before a shocked look comes onto her face. "Holy..." she breathes.

* * *

(**A few minutes before**) (**Kiara's POV**)

Laughing at a comment that Yusuke had made, I head toward a hallway near the elevator, intent on finding the bathrooms. I cautiously make my way into the dark hallway, a bit wary of the thick shadows. I've only gone about five feet in however, when I notice someone leaning against the wall just ahead of me. My eyes widen and I freeze, only to have my eyes widen again when I notice just who it is that is standing there. It's the ookami youkai that I saw in the Ningenkai.

"Erm," I say awkwardly, trying not to show that I recognize her. "Do you, uh, know where the bathrooms are?"

The ookami youkai stares at me with wide eyes. It's a bit disconcerting, though I guess that she's most likely just surprised to see a ningen--or at least what appears to be a ningen--here in the Makai.

"Um, I, er, uh..." she stutters, apparently at a loss for what to say. "...No...?" I notice her ears twitching slightly and wonder why she's so nervous. Finally she seems to gather a bit of nerve and continues, "Sorry, I'm, um, kind of new here, Kiara."

I find this statement a little strange, but just nod and begin to turn around. "...Right," I say. "Um, well, thank anyway-" Abruptly it dawns on me that the youkai had just used my name. "Hey!" I exclaim. "H-how do you know my name?!"

The ookami youkai freezes and stares at me with wide eyes. My expression mirrors hers and thoughts are running rampant through my mind. How does she know my name? Did she catch me spying on her in the Ningenkai? Did she follow me home and learn everything about me so that she can confront me? Did she-

My thoughts cut off as the ookami youkai lets out a sigh, apparently having come to a decision in her mind. "...Kiara..." she says hesitantly. "...It's me."

I stare at the youkai in confusion, wondering what the hell she means b that. _'Her_ _eyes..._' I think offhandedly, despite the predicament that I'm currently in. _'They're_ _so_ _blue_. _Except_ _for_ _the_ _little_ _silver_ _flecks_, _they're_ _almost_ _exactly_ _like..._' My thoughts freeze as several things click together in my mind at the same time. Kristy. She looks exactly like a silver haired, wolf-like Kristy. Everything about her, from her voice, to the way she moves, even down to the length of her hair, they're all exactly the same as Kristy...

"K-k-kristy?!" I choke out. She smiles awkwardly and nervously rubs the back of her head with one hand while giving me a peace sign with the other. Yep, definitely Kristy.

This also explains a lot though, such as how Kristy was often busy when all of us wanted to get together. Also, I often noticed how she seemed to have better reflexes, strength, and speed than most humans. And even more so, I remember how that day, when we had returned to the arcade after Botan had been kidnapped, Kristy and Chris had been gone. When we questioned them about it the next day, they had just said something about having to leave early and I remember how something had just seemed off about the whole thing. And now it's all explained...Well except for the part about exactly how it is that she _is_ a youkai. Though, perhaps, she's a hanyou like me?

"Hey," I say suddenly, eyes widening with realization once more. "Does that mean that...Chris...?" And by extension... "...Jessica...?"

Kristy rubs that back of her head nervously again. "Um...yeah...kinda..."

"What...? How...?"

"Erm, well..." Kristy sighs again, and then pauses before beginning her explanation. I stand there open-mouthed through the whole explanation. This certainly is surprising.

"So let me get this straight," I say slowly once she has finished her narrative. "You're actually a youkai, though you didn't know it until just after you met my brother and his friends. Your parents were powerful youkai who ran away to the Ningenkai with your older brother and yourself when you were a baby because Bashere--who just happens to be the host of this tournament--was after them for some reason that you don't know of yet. They were killed anyway a few years later, but Bashere didn't know about you or your brother, so you were left alone. About nine months ago though, Bashere found you and, a few months later, invited you to this Kuro Tournament. And Jessica, Chris, your brother, Touya, and Jin are here with you."

Kristy nods, straight-faced.

I drag a hand down my face. "Well, fuck."

Kristy laughs for a moment before becoming serious again. "Well, I've explained why I'm here, and now it's your turn. What are you and the others doing here and how do you know about youkai?"

"Well, for starters," I answer. "Kurama is--"

Kristy cuts me off, "Kurama?"

"Ah, Suiichi. Kurama is kind of his nickname, though it's a bit more complicated than that." I wait for Kristy to nod in understanding before continuing. "Kurama is basically a ningen with a youkai's soul--and powers--and Hiei is in fact a youkai. Yusuke and Kuwabara are human. Well, mostly human anyway."

Kristy gapes at me. "What?!" she gasps. "_Hiei_ is a...Well, actually, that explains a lot. Especially his violent tendencies..."

"Yeah," I chuckle. "Well, anyway, I myself am a hanyou**(1)**. I only even know Yusuke because he had a mission to rescue me." I pause, pushing unwanted memories from my mind. "Let's just say that Si- ...my father...had some...issues..."

Kristy nods, apparently filing this information away for further reference. It's understandable really; she'd known that I wasn't related to the Urameshi's, but hadn't known exactly how I'd come to be with them. Suddenly her head jerks back to me from where she'd been staring absently at a wall.

"Wait, mission?"

I grin. "Yep," I say. "You see, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama are the Reikai Tentai."

* * *

(**5 minutes later**) (**Kristy's POV**)

Still in a slight daze from all that had happened to me, I stumble slowly down the hall towards the room that my team is currently occupying. I fumble with the door knob for a moment before said door finally swings open, admitting me to the room. Not even thinking, I stride over to the couch and collapse down onto it. Everyone, who had been doing various things around the room, pauses to stare at me.

"Dude," Chris says as he walks over and pokes me in the cheek. "Are you okay?"

I swat annoyed at his hand and then lift my head to glare straight at Touya. The blue haired youkai blinks, too surprised to even glare back.

"You knew," I say accusingly.

He glares back at me. "Knew what, exactly?"

"About who the Reikai Tentai are!"

Touya continues to stare at me. "...We already said that we know the Reikai Tentai, remember?"

I glare even harder at him, but Jason suddenly cuts in. "Alright, alright," he says to me. "What's this about?"

I shift my gaze to him, my mouth set in a tight line. "While I was out on my walk I ran into Kiara." Jason, Chris, and Jessica stare at me like I've gone insane.

"Umm, Kristy," Chris says hesitantly. "In case you've forgotten, we're in the Makai right now, not the Ningenkai..."

I glare at my currently blue haired friend. "That's my point!" I snap. "It turns out," I continue, shifting my glare back to Touya and Jin, who has come up beside the ice youkai, "That Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama are the Reikai Tentai."

Jason, Chris, and Jessica's mouths immediately drop open in shock. Touya and Jin, on the other hand, just blink.

"You know them?" Jin asks. I, however, ignore his question in favor of paying attention to Jessica who looks as though she's about to start hyperventilating.

"You mean that Suiichi...?" she whispers.

"Kurama, actually," I say wryly. My two friends and brother look at me in confusion, so I further clarify, "They call him Kurama because it used to be his name back when he was a youkai."

"Wait a second," Jason speaks up. "Kurama? As in Youko Kurama? The infamous thief who died some time ago?"

I smile weakly. "Yes, although he didn't die," I say. "Instead he just escaped to the Ningenkai and inserted his soul in an unborn baby, namely Suiichi."

Jessica places her hands over her stomach as though she's going to be sick. "Why..." she begins, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, "Why didn't he tell me?"

"Hey," I say gently, moving over tell her and placing an arm around her shoulders. "You didn't tell him about what you are either, right? And you still love him, don't you?"

She nods mutely, a shaky smile coming to her lips. "Y-yeah..."

Jason, meanwhile, is rubbing his chin in though. "Hmm..." he says. "I guess it's a good thing that I never met them then; they probably would have immediately sensed my youki." Jason pauses for another minute before turning a piercing stare on me. "So I guess that this Kiara now knows about us?"

"Yes," I reply, and then quickly continue, "But she said that she wasn't going to tell the others. I explained everything about Bashere to her and we both agreed that it'd be best for us not to get Koenma and the Reikai Tentai involved." I shrugged lightly. "We're just going to have to beat them when we face them in the tournament. Kiara said that she'll try as hard as she can to keep them off of our trail for now."

Jason nods and we all lapse into silence again, each caught up in our own thoughts.

* * *

The next morning I wake up early, probably because I am in an unfamiliar place, but also mainly because everyone else is also getting up. We all ran around for the next hour or so, trying to get ready for the opening ceremony. I myself am currently digging through the clothes that I had brought with me, attempting to put together the outfit that I want to wear while fighting, since the first round will start right after the Opening Ceremony. Finally finding what I want, I grab the clothing, run into the bathroom, and begin to get dressed and washed.

A couple of minutes later I step out, ready to go. I am now wearing a high-necked sleeveless black shirt and a pair of black pants. Knee-high soft-soled black combat boots were on my feet, muffling any sounds that I made as I walked. As a final touch I was wearing a pair of black fingerless gloves that reached to my elbows. These, like the ones that I got at Christmas, were fireproof so that I could use my fire without damaging them. Two katanas were attached to my belt that was firmly at my waist and a couple of daggers were hidden in my boots))

As I walk over to where the couches are, I tuck a strand of silver hair behind my ear. For once I am wearing my hair in a braid, so that it won't get in my way while I'm fighting. Despite this however, the braid still reaches down past my butt. A pair of bangs frame my face. Glancing around, I see that everyone else is just about ready to leave too.

Jessica, whom is pacing nervously near the door, is wearing her usual blue bikini outfit, although now there is a long strip of white cloth hanging in the front and back of her, almost like a very long loin clothe. Amusingly, it kind of reminds me of some of the outfits I'd seen priestesses wear is some games and anime. Her emerald green hair is up in a long ponytail, and she has a pair of traditional sandals on her feet. The whole outfit would probably look pretty interesting once she had her wings out, but, having learned how to hide them a while ago, she doesn't have them right now and so looks mostly like a ningen, except for her hair and the light aura around her.

Chris is lounging in one of the comfy chairs and I would have thought him to be completely at ease, if it wasn't for the way his foot is bouncing agitatedly. He is wearing a black muscle shirt and a pair of long green cargo shorts that went to the middle of his calves. On his feet are an average pair of tennis shoes.

The last person in the room, wearing something different from usual, was my older brother, Jason. He has on a black sleeveless turtle-neck shirt--one not too dissimilar from mine, actually--and a pair of loose black pants. For shoes he is wearing a pair of black buckled boots that the bottoms of his pants are tucked into. For the first time that I had ever seen, a pair of black fingerless gloves adorn his hands**(1)**. His sword, which is somewhat similar to a katana only longer and wider, is strapped to his back

"Well," Jason says, striding towards us. "Is everyone ready to go?" All of us, including Touya and Jin who are standing in a corner near the door, nod. "Good," Jason continues, clapping his hands, "Then let's get going. Rhurac said yesterday, that we need to be down in the arena by nine, and it's already eight and we still need to get breakfast."

Moving quickly, we all filed out the door and headed to the elevator. Once we were down in the lobby again Touya--surprisingly--directed us to where the dining area was; we had had dinner in our suite last night so didn't know where it was. It turned out to be a lot like a large restaurant. We all sat down at a table and before long a youkai, the waiter, came up to take our orders.

Breakfast only took a half an hour and so before I knew it, we were leaving the hotel and heading toward the large arena. Surprisingly, it took us about ten minutes of walking to reach. Looking up at the walls, I saw why; we had been mislead as to the actual size. It had appeared very large from far away but, up close I could see that it was even larger than anything I had imagined. It was easily close to 15 stories tall and the walls stretched out beyond the limits of my vision on both sides. _Thousands_ of youkai must be able to fit in this arena.

With that realization, a shiver slipped down my spine. Just how many spectators were going to be at this tournament? I knew that it was a very big event, but still...Pushing my fears away, I followed the rest of my team through the doors of the arena. The inside was filled with hundreds of youkai milling around and heading toward where they needed to go, which was mainly the large corridors that lead to the seating areas. Pushing past everyone, we headed toward the information desk.

"Hello," Jason said to the receptionist behind the desk--a female water demon I guessed from her appearance--as he handed our invitation to her. "We're participating in the tournament."

The youkai's eyes flickered with interest for a moment, taking us all in. "The door to my right will take you down to the waiting area. Someone there will prep you on how the ceremony is going to go," she replied in a voice like a bubbling brook. Then, with coy smile to Jason, "Good luck." She batted her eyelashes for extra measure.

Completely ignoring the water youkai's actions, Jason murmured a quick thank you and then led to the door that she had pointed out. As I followed, I sent a quick glare at to water youkai. He was my brother damn it! The door led into a long brightly lit hall. We walked down the hall for several minutes with no doors appearing at all before said hall came to an end before a single door. Unhesitatingly, Jason pulled the door open and entered, the rest of us trailing along behind.

The room that we entered was very large; my entire apartment could probably fit within it. Scattered about the room were what had to be at least fifty youkai. They were clustered together in isolated groups however, so I guessed that most likely these were all of the teams that were participating. At the back of the room, opposite from the door that we'd entered though, were a large pair of steel doors. Considering the light shining through the bottom of the doors, I guessed that they led out to the center of the arena, where the fighting would take place.

Glancing about the room, I tensed up when I saw my friends--who I now knew to be the Reikai Tentai in one corner. Kiara and I locked eyes for a moment, before each of us turned away and acted as though nothing had happened. Her eyes did, however stray over to the rest of the group, eyeing Touya and Jin in recognition and the others in surprise at how different they looked.

At the same time, I heard Jessica next to me mutter, "So it's true..." Seeing that she was staring at Suiichi, I looked at her sympathetically. It was a shock for me to find out that my friends were involved with the youkai world, but for Jessica, who was _dating_ one of them, it had to be much more difficult. It probably hadn't even completely sunk in for her until she physically saw her boyfriend here.

Carefully, we maneuvered to the opposite side of the room from the Reikai Tentai, not wanting to be recognized. As we then stood looking around, I tensed for a second time as I noticed Rhurac standing with a group of youkai. So he was participating in the tournament then? '_Good,_' I couldn't help but think. '_I can't wait to get a chance to smash his face in._' As if sensing my glare, Rhurac looked up and met my eyes. Seeing who it was, he immediately let out what was quickly becoming, to me at least, his patented smirk. Annoyed, I turned my head away and refused to look at him again.

We continued to wait for another fifteen or so minutes before someone finally entered the room only at eight o'clock sharp. It was a dark red skinned youkai with pure black eyes long white hair. "Hello, everyone," he greeted with a booming voice. All voices in the room quickly quieted down. "And welcome to the Kuro Tournament. Congratulations on being invited to participate in fighting among best of the best. The Opening Ceremony is already under way outside in the arena. When it comes time to announce the teams you will be called up one by one. When your team's name is called, you will exit though those doors," he said pointing to the large steel ones, "And take your place in front of the crowd. Are there any questions?"

No made any sound and so the red skinned youkai left the room again without another word. As soon as the door had closed, whispers immediately broke out. My team and I shared a glance, all of us starting to feel a bit nervous. For the next few minutes we listened to the rumble of the announcer's voice outside of the steel doors. He went on for what seemed like forever, before the first team's name was finally called. The team--a group of fairly nondescript youkai--passed through the steel doors and outside to the large cheer of the crowd. From where we were standing I was unable to see what lay beyond the doors, but the defaming sound the filled up the room before being muted again as the doors closed behind the team hinted to me just what it probably looked like.

About five more minutes passed and we still hadn't been called to step beyond the steel doors. By now about half of the teams had already been called, including the Reikai Tentai. Suddenly, the announcer's voice boomed out again.

"AND NEXT UP, WE HAVE TEAM KAGEKAZE!"

Hearing out name, my team began to walk nervously toward the steel doors. I couldn't help but feel the corners of my lips twitch, however, as I thought about our team's name. After much deliberation we had decided on Kagekaze, Shadow Wind, for several reasons. It was partially because one of Jason's elements was wind and one of mine was shadows. It was mainly, however, because everyone on our team focused more on speed in fighting than strength. And besides, that Kagekaze was just a cool name.

When the steel doors opened up and we walked out, we were immediately assaulted with the deafening cheering of the spectators. As we began to make our way toward were the rest of the teams were standing, I was in a state of shock. The arena was actually even more massive than I'd thought. The center area it's self was about the size of two or three football fields combined, which was incredible, but it was the crowd that really got be. The walls of the oval-shaped arena stretched up to the sky and were completely packed with youkai. There had to be at least 5,000-10,000 spectators. I didn't think I'd ever seen this many _ningen_ in one place, let alone youkai. I was completely blown away.

The stands appeared to be separated into five floors--though each "floor" was probably about four building stories tall--with a walkway with a railing running between each of the floors, all the way around the arena. A couple of youkai could be seen walked along those walkways/corridors, heading toward their seats. On one end of the oval-shaped arena was a gigantic screen above the first three floors of seating, which currently showed us, walking toward our spot. On the other end was a spot that took up one whole floor in the middle that didn't have individual seating. There were only a few people there, the announcer among them, and there was one larger throne-like chair in the center. It was the person in said chair that caught--and held--my attention.

It was a youkai probably in his middle years, though he only looked to be in his mid twenties by human standards. He had a dark brown--almost to the point of black--hair that reached down to the nape of his neck and partially shadowed his coal black eyes. It was those eyes that really held me. They were deep pits of shadows that seemed to suck in the light from all around them. They were also colder and harder than anything that I had ever seen, and I could tell, even from this distance, that they were staring straight at me and only me. Their gaze pierced into my soul and I found as I continued walking that I just couldn't look away. I knew, without ever having seen him before, who this was.

Bashere.


	27. Chapter 26: The First Round

A/N: We finally get to start the fighting with this chapter (**grins**) As a forewarning, some of the battles in this chapter aren't as exciting as I'd like them to be. That, however, is probably because I'm putting so much effort into writing the second round. Let's just say that I'm having a hell of time writing that (**smirks**) Anyways, there's something important that you find out in the beginning of this chapter that I think will send all of you for a loop. So without further ado, read, review (for love of God review people!), and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - Tenki translates literally to natural elements (as in wind, water, fire, etc.)  
(2) - This means begin/start. My translation might be a little off for this one though, so if anyone knows Japanese and can correct me, please do!

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**This chapter is currently unedited.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 26  
_The First Round_

* * *

A few minutes later all of the sixteen teams that had been invited had been called and were now waiting in the middle of the arena. I myself was staring at the ground beneath my feet, determined not look up at Bashere. I was ashamed to say that I hadn't been able to look away from him and our gaze hadn't broken until he himself looked away when the team after us had been called. I didn't want that to happen again, to be stuck in his powerful gaze, so I refused to look up, even though I could swear that I could

Despite this however, I had to admit that he wasn't at all what I expected my parent's murderer to look like. Though, really, I wasn't quite sure exactly what I had thought that he'd look like, but certainly I never thought that he'd look like he did. He was actually quite handsome--repulsive at the same time, granted, and his eyes really did creep me out, but he would probably be considered a lady's man if he was a ningen in the Ningenkai.

Currently, the announcer was going through an explanation of the tournament's meaning, which I mostly tuned out, Jason having already explained it to us. When he started to explain how the tournament would go, however, I paid attention and resisted the urge to look up to where he was.

"The Kuro Tournament," he was saying, "Will have five rounds: the preliminaries, the quarter finals, the semi finals, and the finals. The preliminaries will be held today and tomorrow and will consist of two teams facing off in one on one battles. The teams to win three out of five battles will continue on to the quarter finals, which will be held the day after tomorrow. The teams to win in the quarter finals will progress onto the semi finals, which will be held the next day. After the semi finals are completed there will only two teams with be left.

"Following that there will be a three day resting period for the two teams competing in the finals to get refreshed and train up a bit. Then that the finals will be held. This, however, is not the end of the tournament. After day the final round in completed one person on the winning team will be chosen to fight in a one on one battle to the death against Lord Bashere himself. If Bashere wins then he will keep his position, but if the challenger wins then they will take his place as the next Battle Lord of the Makai."

Immediately my eyes widened and I felt my shoulders tense. Battle Lord of the Makai? That's what this was about! Everything suddenly clicked into place. It all made sense now. That was why the tournament had been banned so long ago. It wasn't because of the damage that could be done, but because the winner became a Lord that had more power than all of the Lords of the Makai, someone whom all of the Makai feared and respected. The most powerful being in the world.

Suddenly I realized that I had begun trembling and, for the first time in my life, I was truly terrified. I wasn't ready for this! I had never been in battle before, not really. I had only really fought against one youkai before and that had been before I had even known that youkai existed! Plus, it didn't even really count as a fight since all I'd done was shoot a fireball at it to kill it. No wonder Bashere had invited us to participate in this tournament; he wouldn't even have worry about killing us himself, the youkai in the tournament would do it for him!

I glanced nervously around at the other teams around us as this sunk in. These youkai were the best warriors in the world and probably in the Reikai and Ningenkai too. And I was going to have to fight them. I was going to have to fight powerful warrior who'd been training and fighting for centuries. I, who hadn't even known youkai _existed_ a year ago. I, had never actually fought in a battle before. I, who was only even here for Bashere's amusement!

And what about the rest of my team, my friends? While all of them had been fighting for a while longer than me, none of them could compete to be the greatest youkai in the world! Even Jason, as powerful and confident as he was hadn't had much battle experience, if any at all. What would happen to us? Was our fate to be decided today, during the first round?

Suddenly, what had appeared to be a fun time fighting and getting revenge for my parents turned into what it really way: a tournament of death.

* * *

Three hours later found me and my team back inside of the waiting room. After the opening ceremony had finished all the teams had been told to go back into the waiting room. Then two teams would be randomly selected to fight against each other. The rest of the teams had to wait in the waiting room while the matches so that they would not be able to get a feel for the other teams' powers and get an unfair advantage. About a quarter of the teams had been called up by then and each match seemed to last about forty-five minutes to an hour to an hour. We wouldn't find out who had passed onto the next round and who had been eliminated until the end of the day when the tournament was paused until tomorrow.

During this waiting time I was a nervous wreck, though I managed to hide it well. After all, weren't youkai in many respects similar to animals, and didn't people always say that animals could sense fear? But, though I hid it, I couldn't change they way that I was feeling inside. Would we be chosen to go today? Who would we go against? We would manage to survive? Or would we...No, no, I couldn't think like that. I took in a deep breath and then let it out in a sigh.

"Hey," Jason suddenly said, swinging his arm over my shoulder. "Relax, okay? Believe it or not, you're going to do fine. You're more than ready for this."

"After nine months of training?" I snapped back irritably.

Jason chuckled, not at all put off by my attitude. "Experience may make up part of a person's skill level, but you'd be surprised how much genetics and raw power can do. Plus, you _have_ had nine months to refine that power and, even if that can't compare centuries of experience, I'm positive that you'll do fine. Just take it one battle at a time, 'kay?" he said, and hugged me tight.

I nodded and sighed, resting my head against his shoulder. I felt lucky to have a brother like him. Jason may annoy the hell out of me most of the time, but he was the one immovable force in my life, the pillar of strength that I knew I could hold onto when everything else got turbulent and stormy. He had practically raised me and, when this whole youkai thing came about, he used almost all of his free time--and mine, granted--to train me. I had to trust him on this one, no matter that my instincts were telling me to run for the hills.

At that moment that red skinned youkai returned to the room and all of us sat up, tense. He was the one who told us which teams were up next, so the last match must have just finished.

Sure enough, the youkai held up stood up in the middle of the room and called out, "Next up is Team Tenki**(1) **versus Team Kagekaze. Please enter the arena."

I immediately tensed up. Crap. This was it. We were going to fight now. As we stood up, Jason squeezed my shoulder in encouragement and then began to lead us toward the door. A team of mismatched youkai exited just in front of us. They were the ones that we would have to fight, I thought. They were the ones who would help to decide whether we would live or die, let alone make it to the next round. Taking a deep breath, I exited behind my brother out into the light again.

Unlike when we were last out here, there were now two large shaded benches set up on opposite sides of the arena. The other team, Team Tenki crossed the arena toward the bench on the far side, so we took the other one, which happened to be the closest one to the door to the waiting room. The large screen was on the side of the stadium to our right and the section that the announcer and Bashere we in was to our left. All around us, the crowd roared in excitement.

Sitting down on the bench I let out another breath. I was nervous as hell, despite my brother's pep talk.

"Alright," the announcer said as the crowd quieted down. "Here we have Team Tenki and Team Kagekaze. Not much is known about Team Tenki but, even more so, Team Kagekaze has completely come out of the woodwork. No one has ever heard of them, let alone has any information on them, so this will probably be either a pretty interesting match or a very disappointing one!"

'_Thanks for the vote of confidence,_' I could help but think with a grumble. At the same time, however, this reminded me of one of the reasons as to why I was here. I was here to test my strength and prove that I was good enough to be a youkai. I lifted my gaze and glared purposely at Bashere who, fortunately, wasn't looking at me but instead speaking with someone on his left. I was here to do my parents proud.

"The teams will choose who goes when during each match, but no one is allowed to go twice. The team to win the majority of the matches with move on to the next round. There are no rules as to what you can do to your opponent, but please attempt to keep all attacks with in the stadium. There is a shield around the seating areas incase anything happens, but damage to the arena still has to be taken care of before the next match. No one, from either team, is allowed into interfere during the battles or else that team automatically forfeits. Let this match begin!" Immediately the crowd cheered vivaciously again and Team Tenki huddled around, deciding which them would go.

"I'll start," Touya spoke up. "I participated in the Dark Tournament, so it'd be best to start off with me, someone who a few of the spectators might know."

Jason, who was our team's captain, nodded in agreement. "Alright," he said. "That makes sense." He then clapped the blue haired youkai on the shoulder, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Good luck."

Touya nodded stoically, appearing to be completely at ease, and then headed to the center of the arena. Already the participant from the other team was up standing there, waiting. It was a female youkai, though I wasn't sure of what type. She was of average height and build and had spiky white hair and yellow eyes. Her outfit was completely white and consisted of a pair of loosed pants and a Chinese-style sleeveless top. Her feet were bare.

Once Touya was standing across from the girl, the announcer spoke up again. "The first person who is unable to continue to fight, who forfeits, or who dies is the looser. Shihajimeru**(2)**!"

Immediately Touya and the other youkai leapt away from each other. Without wasting any time, Touya called up his ice and attacked his opponent with a flurry of tiny ice needles. The other youkai quickly brought up her hand, electricity sparking between her fingers. With a flick of her wrist a bolt of lightening shot at the incoming projectiles, melting them instantly and continuing on towards Touya. The blue haired youkai quickly raised both of his arms in front of him, calling up a large wall of ice. The lightning was absorbed by the wall, though the ice also mostly melted as a result.

From the start Touya was at a large disadvantage, and this only became more clear at the two leapt around the stadium, exchanging attack after attack. Being paired off against a lightning youkai was even worse for an ice user than going against a fire user because not only was the lightning very hot, but it could electrify too. Plus, it was a much more wild and sporadic element, which made it harder to predict. Still, Touya pushed on, scoring several good hits on the lightning youkai.

After about ten minutes it appeared as though the tide was starting to turn in favor of Touya. Seeing this, the ice youkai pushed even harder, trying to finish the match. However, the lightning youkai, though getting tired and slowing down, was not to be underestimated. Using the last of her energy, she sent a massive barrage of lightning at Touya. Touya attempted to shield himself, but some of the lightning managed to hit him. Fortunately, the lightning was fairly weak at this point and didn't harm him to badly. He was, however, rendered unconscious and thus down for the count.

"Winner," the announcer announced. "Is Team Tenki!" At the same time a score board flashed onto the big screen, showing one point for Team Tenki and zero for us. The crowd went wild, even as the lightning user fell to one knew from exhaustion. Medics came out onto the field from a small door beneath were the large screen was and carried both Touya and the other youkai out. Once they were gone, the announcer continued, "Will the participants of the next match please step up."

We all glanced at each other, worried. We had already lost the first match. Finally, Chris squared his shoulders and put his chin in the air.

"I'll go," he said firmly. The rested of us nodded mutely and then wished him good luck. As he walked to the middle of the field, a youkai from the other team did too.

It was a male this time and, in contrast to the last youkai, he was very muscled, to the point that he would be called a body builder in the Ningenkai. He was darkly tanned and had brown hair and forest green eyes. He wore a pair of loose brown pants, no shirt and, like the lightning user, no shoes. The youkai's face was impassive, showing neither cruelty nor kindness. Over all, I couldn't help but think that he minded me of a statue. Perhaps a gargoyle...

Once Chris and the youkai were standing across from each other, I was able to get a good feel for just how large the youkai really was; he was nearly twice as tall as Chris and nearly three times as wide. He truly towered above my currently blue haired friend, creating a massive shadow in the afternoon sun.

Before I could even shake off my awe at this great being, the announcer spoke up to signal the beginning of this battle, "Shihajimeru!"

Immediately Chris jumped backwards, just as the giant youkai slammed his hands downward. To my shock--and the excitement of the crowd--the giant's blow created a crater in the ground. The attack didn't stop there however, as starting from the crater a wide rift in the ground opened up, heading straight for Chris. Thinking quickly, Chris placed his hands on the ground before him and caused a thick sheet of ice to form fairly far in all directions from where he was standing. This meant that even when the rift spread under him, Chris was still standing on solid ground. And, besides that, now he was in his element.

Grinning widely, Chris willed his ice spear to form in his outstretched hand. As soon as it did, he spun the spear over his head before stabbing it unto the ice covered ground before him. Instantaneously, large spikes of ice, more than ten feet tall and four feet in diameter, shot up from the ground one after another, progressing in the direction of the oncoming giant youkai. Said giant stopped his change and stomped viciously on the ground. In response a large wall of rock three feet thick rose from the ground before the--apparently--earth youkai. The wall protected the youkai from Chris' attack just as the ice reached him.

When the dust settled Chris was nowhere to be seen. The crowd in the stands watched on in anticipation as the earth youkai glanced around the arena warily. Then, suddenly and without warning, Chris appeared in the air above the earth youkai, his ice spear poised for a downward stab. The earth youkai's eyes widened in shock, as he realized that he had no time to dodge.

At that moment however, just before he made the kill, Chris hesitated. Seeing this, the earth youkai quickly reacted and took control and the situation by reaching up and slamming his mist into Chris. Chris went flying off to the side before rolling to a stop where he lay, unmoving.

"Winner, Team Tenki!" the announcer called out as the crowed lifted into a roar once more. At the same time the scoreboard came onto the big screen, showing that the score was Tenki: 2, Kagekaze: 0.

I bit my lower lip worriedly as I watched the medics take Chris away on a stretcher. This wasn't good. The Tenki only had to win one more match for them to win this round and we didn't even have a single point yet. Chris could have won his match, if only he hadn't hesitated at the end. Of course, I probably would have hesitated too. All of us--besides Jin and Touya--had been raised in the Ningenkai. Despite our naturally violent nature, our upbringing meant that we didn't have the same ruthlessness that most youkai had.

Of course, this also set me into another bout of worrying. What if I hesitated too during my match? What if lost and thus lost the whole tournament for my team? Would I even get to fight in the first place? Would I get to test my strength against these great warriors?

Jason, meanwhile, was also looking serious. After a moment of though, however, he turned to Jessica.

"Jessica," he said as he frightened green eyes met his steadfast blue ones. "We'll need you to go next. We've had two ice youkai go so far, so having someone who is half ningen, half angel, and not youkai at all will hopefully surprise them enough for you to quickly take out your opponent." Jessica nodded mutely in understanding. Then, taking a deep, albeit shaky, breath, she began to head toward the center of the arena.

Jessica's opponent was a fire youkai, at least from what I could guess. It was a female again, around perhaps 5'8" feet tall. She had dark skin, long red hair that was tied back in a pony tail, and shining golden eyes. Her outfit consisted of a golden tube top and a long deep crimson skirt with a slit on one side that ran all the way up to her waist. Her feet were bare beyond the golden anklets that adorned her ankles. A similar pair also rested on her wrists.

"Shihajimeru!"

Immediately, Jessica had to avoid a blast of fire sent away. She attempted to move backwards to collect herself, but the fire youkai wouldn't let her and instead set blast of fire after blast of fire. After a couple minutes the fire youkai finally backed off, a smirk on her face, while Jessica stood panting. The youkai then said something to Jessica and, though I was way to far away to hear it, even with my enhanced senses, it must have been a taunt because Jessica immediately glared at her.

Whatever had been said, I knew that the fire youkai would soon come to regret it, especially considering that she had given Jessica the time and space she needed to prepare herself. Proving my thoughts to be correct, at that moment Jessica began to concentrate. Not a moment later she was surrounded by a burst of white energy and, when the light died down, Jessica was standing there in all her glory, a large pair of pure white wings stretching for her back.

Immediately the entire arena went silent. They stared on in shock for a moment before whispers started breaking out all of the stands. They were all shocked that an angel was here in Makai, competing in the tournament. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Bashere was leaning forward, interested. Even Jessica's opponent, the fire youkai, was gaping in shock.

Smirking--an expression that looked strange on Jessica's face, my currently green haired friend placed her hands before her as if she was holding a bow. Just seconds later a bow made of white energy appeared in her outstretched hands. Not wasting any time, Jessica let loose an arrow made from pure energy. Her eyes widening, the fire youkai watched as the arrow speedily approached, before quickly raising her hands up, causing a wall of fire to erupt from the ground before her. The arrow continued undeterred however, passing through the fire as though it wasn't even there. An added effect--for Jessica at least--was that the fire blocked the youkai's view, so she didn't even know that the arrow had passed until it lodged into her shoulder.

The youkai fell to her one knee with a grunt, one hand wrapped around her shoulder. When a shadow fell over her she looked up, only to find an arrow pointing between her eyes, held by Jessica who was hovering about a foot off the ground.

"Give," Jessica said firmly.

The youkai glared, a fire burning in her eyes, but self preservation won out in the end. "I give," she said grudgingly.

"W-winner, Team Kagekaze!" Even the announcer seemed shook up. There was only polite clapping from the crowd, who were still whispering fiercely. Jessica, however, just ignored them, retracted her wings, and then followed the medics--who were making sure to keep a few feet from her at all times--out of the arena.

I had to keep a smile from forming on my lips. Good, we were still in the running then. And just as Jason had predicted, Jessica had been able to win mainly by surprise, though her skill had a lot to do with it as well. Still, I couldn't help but shiver as I thought about what that fire youkai would have done if she'd gotten her hands on Jessie. It was kind of terrifying to see just what a fire youkai was capable of from an outsider's point of view. I wondered how others, especially my friends and family, viewed me.

Glancing over at what remained of my team, I noticed that just Jason, Jin, and I were left. That meant that only two of us would go--possibly, for it could still be just one, if we lost the next battle...--unless someone tied. Pondering this, I met Jason's eyes, only to freeze when I saw the concern that lied there.

"...Kristy..." he said hesitantly, "Y-you'll need to go next." He swiftly glanced over to where another youkai from Team Tenki was already walking forward before looking back at me. "I can't go yet since I'm going to face the captain." He hesitated again before enveloping me in a tight hug. "Good luck."

My eyes widened in surprise, but I hugged him back before pulling away and starting toward the field as butterflies pounded against the inside of my stomach. As I did however, Jason called after me, "And be careful!" I smirked lightly to myself before giving him a two fingered wave over my shoulder at him, not even turning around.

As I stood before my opponent, I could feel Bashere's interested gaze on me without even looking up. I squared my shoulders, setting my face into a determined look. I would do this. I would win. I would show them all what I could do. And, most of all, I would do my brother, the last of my family, proud.

"Shihajimeru!"


	28. Chapter 27: To Win or Lose

A/N: ...(**eye is twitching**)...I'm sad to say that I received one review for the last chapter. _One_. Thanks so much to Anna Jaganshi for sending that review, but the rest of you... (**shakes head sadly**) There were 20 hits on the chapter by _Sunday_, three days after the chapter was released, but no reviews. Do you people realize how pathetic that is? Really, it's not _that_ hard to review! And reviews make me want to write more! I really want to finish this story, but if only a few rare people review...Well, I have no problem just personally sending the chapters to the few people who have reviewed this story.

I really don't want to have to be making threats people, but if I have to stop this story because no one is letting me know that they're reading it, then I will. I post this story on several other sites as well and I'm fine with just posting on those. I'd like to get a lot more reviews from this chapter, please.

(**sighs**) Well, anyways, I've actually been looking forward to putting this chapter up for a while (**grins**). Now you all will finally learn more about Bashere and why he killed Kristy's parents! So, without any more ramble, read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - "Ookami no Mai" means "Dance of Wolves".

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Seer Vixion!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 27  
_To Win or Lose_

* * *

"Shihajimeru!"

Quickly moving backward, I glanced over my opponent. I was up against another female, although this one was much small there the other two, with almost willowy limbs. She was, of course, still taller than me, but that wasn't very hard to accomplish. She had wispy purple hair, silver eyes, and pale--nearly to the point of being translucent--skin. She also wore loose and flowing dark purple traditional robe. Like the rest of her team, she had bare feet.

The youkai's face was calm and relaxed, but her eyes were sharp, watching my every move as we circled each other. Then, at the same time, we launched at each other, me quickly pulling out my katana and her forming a fiercely spinning ball of air within her cupped hands. We clashed seconds later and I quickly blocked her attack as she shoved it toward my head.

Surprisingly, the ball of wind made a grinding sound against my katana. I pushed some youki into my katana, however, and flames suddenly covered the length of the blade, forcing the ball of wind away. My opponent's eyes narrowed at the sight of the flames and the two of us began to circle one another again. I had to hold back a smirk from taking over my face... good, now she thought that I was a fire youkai. Or, more likely, she thought that I was a wolf youkai with fire abilities. I would lead her along for a little bit by using only fire attacks, before showing some of my other abilities, which she wouldn't be expecting.

Even as the purple haired youkai and I continued to watch each other, I realized that I had unconsciously, become fairly confident. Before, while just standing on the sidelines, I had been incredibly nervous, thinking that I couldn't match up to my opponents. However, even though I was still somewhat worried now, those thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind. When entering battle, my instincts apparently automatically took over and pushed any unneeded thoughts away. Instead, I was now completely focused on the battle and my opponent, and above all on surviving and hopefully winning.

Suddenly, seeing a slight opening on my opponent's left side, I leapt forward, slashing with my katana as I moved. Seeing this the youkai turned to dodge, but as I swung my katana, I murmured out, "Ookami no Mai**(1)**." The effects were instantaneous.

The fire that had been flickering around by blade roared up, trailing off the katana. As it did the fire molded into the forms of multiple wolves, which attacked and clawed at my opponent. They, and the rest of the fire, disappeared after only a few seconds. When my opponent landed on the ground a few feet further back she was singed, bleeding, and unhappy. Definitely unhappy.

The youkai snarled angrily at me and, as she did, the wind around her began to pick up. Before long it was swirling violently, forming a tall tornado around the apparent wind youkai, hiding her from view. I watched this new development with narrowed eyes, but wasn't too worried. Thank Kami Jason was a wind youkai, and so I've dealt with this before. And on top of that, I trained with Jin and Touya a bit, and Jin in a full wind youkai. I finally let my smirk appear. This wind youkai was the best opponent I could have gotten.

It was then that I began to do something that I'd practiced many times and come to enjoy using. With just a twitch of my youkai, shadows began to accumulate underneath me, stirring as if alive. Once a sufficient amount was there, I stretched my arm out, my hand spread open, in the direction of the tornado before me. Immediately the mass of shadows flew outwards, stretching across the ground from its base beneath me toward my opponent. Because it was just shadows the attack was not disrupted at all by the violent winds and soon I could feel them reaching my opponent.

From the corner of my eye I saw the shock and disbelief on the faces on many within the stands. Some had been a little wary when they first saw my use fire--as only a bare few youkai of animal type could use elements--but seeing me use _two_ elements was probably a complete shock. I felt my smirk growing slightly. It really was too bad that I couldn't show of my psychic abilities too right now...

Focusing back on my fight I smirked as I noticed that the tornado was beginning to lose power. My shadows had already reached my opponent, whom I knew was in the center of the tornado, and were doing their job. Only about a minute later the winds dissipated completely, leaving behind the wind youkai, who was covered up to mouth in tightly wrapped shadows, not allowing her to move. Her nose was only free because it allowed her to breathe. The wind youkai's eyes glared sharply at me, furious that she had been put in such a helpless position by what she probably considered an "upstart". And I couldn't completely deny that I was, considering as I had only discovered my youkai heritage within the last year.

That crowd around us was completely silent, utterly shocked at what they had just witnessed. I had used two different elements. And I, some no name youkai, had taken down a powerful youkai. After all, you had to be powerful to be invited to the Kuro Tournament. Slowly, Jason, who was still standing on the side of the arena, began to clap. The sharp noise rang loudly through the deathly quiet arena. Breaking out of the stupor that the whole audience was apparently in, people began to cheer. It started out somewhat subdued at first, but quickly rose in power until the sound was deafening.

I stood proudly and raised my heard to stare defiantly into Bashere's eyes. Said dark haired youkai's eyes danced with amusement, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smirk.

"Winner, Team Kagekaze!" Even the announcer seemed shaken at what had just occurred. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the score board come onto the large screen. The score was now Team Tenki: 2, Team Kagekaze: 2. We were tied and the next match could go either way.

I just continued to stare up at Bashere until the medics came out, at which point I released the wind youkai from the hold I had on her. I turned then and began to walk toward the door that led out of the arena. As said door was positioned underneath were Bashere sat, I could feel his gaze on me as I walked, even though I had long since looked away.

As I approached the door however, I couldn't resist a look over my shoulder, to where Jason and Jin were. I knew that Jason would fight next, as the captain of Team Tenki would be going next too; they both had to make sure that their team would win. I had faith in Jason's abilities, and didn't doubt that he would win, but that didn't mean that I wasn't worried.

Jason met my eyes for a split second and nodded to me. I saw pure pride in his eyes then; pride for me and what I had accomplished. Pride that I had managed to defeat my opponent so soundly without even suffering a scratch, despite how worried I had been that I wouldn't do well.

And I smiled.

* * *

The second that I walked into the small waiting room that all the youkai who had finished were being sent to, Jessica was all over me, shooting worried question after worried question about what had happened and how I was. It took a couple of minutes just for me to calm her down enough for me to even get a word out.

"Jessica, I'm fine!" I said in exasperation. "Look," I continued holding my arms out, "I don't have a scratch on me." Jessica peered at me closely, obviously still not entirely sure, but with her lips pressed in a tight line she finally dismissed the subject.

"So..." Jessica began, brightening up. "How'd it go?"

My face broke into a wide grin. "How do you think?"

"...You won?"

"I won."

"You won!"

"I won!"

Suddenly a new, deeper voice broke into our mini-celebration, "Yay! You won! And now you can shut up and stop bothering everyone else here." Jessica and I looked over in surprise to see a youkai dressed in the blue robes of a healer stalking away, a sour look on his face.

I glared at him before sticking my tongue out at his back. "Yeah, I love you too."

Jessica stifled a giggle at my side. We glanced at each other before breaking out into laughter. After calming down however, we moved onto more important matters.

"How's Chris?" I asked. Pausing for a moment, I then added, "And Touya-san."

"Gee, thanks for your concern," a wry voice came from behind me. Spinning around I saw Touya there, a pair of crutched helping to hold him up, but other than that only looking a little singed. An amused look was on his face.

I sweatdropped and scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. "Sorry, Touya-san," I said apologetically, "But I've know Chris for years, ya know?"

Touya chuckled lightly before waving me off and slowly walking--though perhaps wobbling was a better fitting term--over to a nearby wall, which he leaned against, turning his attention away from Jessica and I.

Jessica watched Touya concernedly for a moment longer, before finally answering my inquiry. "Chris is fine for the most part, just unconscious. The healers said that he got a concussion, but they were able to heal it quickly. They're just waiting for him to wake up." I nodded, relieved that my long time friend would be fine. Jessica then gestured toward Touya. "As you can see, Touya-san is basically okay. He woke up just a few minutes ago. Apparently his opponent did some damage to his nerve endings, but the healers said that he just needs to rest for a little bit and will be more than fine in time for the next round."

I frowned. "That is _if_ we make it to the next round..."

"Don't be so negative!" Jessica admonished. "We'll do just fine. It's all riding on Jason-san right? He's the most powerful out of all of us! I'm sure that he'll win."

I nodded then, smiling lightly. "Yeah, he'll do just fine."

* * *

Ten minutes later found Touya, Jessica, Chris--whom had finally woken up and joined us just a few minutes earlier--, and I sitting on a bench against the wall of the room, eagerly waiting to see how Jason's match had turned out. If he lost then our team would be kicked out of the tournament, if he won then our team would be proceed to the next round, and if Jason and the other team's captain tied, then Jin would have to fight the last member of Team Tenki.

Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted things to turn out. Sure, I did want our team to win. If we did then I would be one step closer to fighting Bashere--and hopefully that bastard Rhurac--and taking revenge on the murders of my parents. I would also get a chance to prove myself in front of all of the Makai. At the same time however, I almost hoped that we would loose. If we did then we wouldn't have to continue this tournament and all of my friends wouldn't be in the extreme danger that they are in now. However, I had no doubt that Bashere would just find some other way to dispose of us, and it wouldn't be anything near the fair chance that we had now.

Sighing, I decided that this all just really wasn't worth worry myself into a ditch over. The only thing I could do was watch and see how things developed, react accordingly, and then hope for the best.

At that moment the door to the waiting room opened once more. All of us jumped to our feet eagerly--except for Touya, who could do no such thing since he was still on crutches--though we also all felt a bit of apprehension. Guided by a pair of healers, in stepped a worn looking Jason. He was dirty and covered in cuts and bruises, but had a large smile on his face. We all immediately perked up and I quickly rushed over to my older brother.

"Well?" I asked, helping to guide him over to a seat. I noticed with an internal wince that my voice sounded both eager and apprehensive at the same time. Apparently not noticing, Jason's grin widened. He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak a grinning Jin popped up beside him.

"How do you think?" Jin said excitedly. "We're going to the next round!" All of us sat in stunned silence for a moment. As soon as Jason had walked through the door we had realized that he had won, but somehow hearing it said aloud was entirely different. It made it real, and none of us were completely expecting it. Slowly however, large grins started to creep onto our face and giddiness started to invade our minds. Only moments later we were all hollering and cheering happily. I noticed with a bit of vindictive cheer that the jerk of a healer whom had spoken to us before was glaring angrily at our group but making no move to stop us.

"We're moving on!" Chris said excitedly, slapping my back. "We're moving on!" I grinned happily, cheering with him and purposely ignoring the bad feeling that had started to settle in the pit of my stomach.

* * *

A little while later, we were all starting to leave what I now knew was called the infirmary. All of us--even me, despite my assurances that I was fine--had been healed and were feeling much better. The others wanted to race back to the hotel because they were starving, but I just wanted to take my time and so told the others to go ahead. After bit of protesting they did so and I was currently taking my time making my way down a long hallway to get out of the arena. I stared at the ceiling with my arms behind my head, a slight smile on my face, when a voice spoke up behind me.

"That was...interesting..."

I immediately whirled around to the source of the voice, annoyed at being snuck up on so many times today, but the scowl on my face quickly fell away when I saw just who was standing there.

"Bashere," I said, my voice tightly controlled to keep emotions from it.

Said youkai smirked at me. His eyes, which had been to entrancing from far away now smoldering with emotions at this close distance and I found myself struggling to keep from drowning in their depths. Bashere chuckled then, a deep rumbling sound that would make most girls swoon. Instead, however, I found myself tensing up even further, very wary. Bashere seemed to find my reaction amusing, as he smirk widened, showing pointed canines.

"Kristy-chan," he continued. I felt a snarl come to my lips at his familiar address, but he simply continued to smirk, infuriating me further. "Your match was certainly...different...than I'd expected." As he spoke, Bashere's eyes studied me, to my immense displeasure. I shifted uneasily beneath his gaze, but found that I was once more trapped by his eyes and couldn't bring myself to turn away and leave, no matter how much I wanted to. So, instead, I brought myself to verbally retaliate.

"Really?" I questioned with a slight sneer. "And exactly what were you expecting?"

Bashere chuckled again, some of his hair falling into his face and covering one eye. With a shiver I realized that having just a single dark eye peering intensely at me was actually worse than two. Instead of answering me however, Bashere took few steps forward until he was standing just a breath away from me. I desperately wanted to turn and run, but found my feet bolted to the floor. Slowly Bashere raised a single slender hand and lifted a strand of my silver hair. I shivered as his pale hand brushed against my cheek.

"You look so much like your mother..." Bashere murmured, letting my hair fall back into place.

Surprised, my eyes widened. "You knew my mother?" I immediately mentally hit myself over my head for this question-of course he knew her! He was the one to kill her! That thought seemed to break me out of whatever trance I'd been caught in and I quickly took a step back. Bashere just chuckled again though, and I found myself shivering at hearing the sound so close up.

"Of course," Bashere replied, his the corner of his mouth lifting up into another smirk. "She was my fiancée."

I breathed in sharply. "_What_? But you-- I mean..." I found myself at a loss for words, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. _Bashere_ had been my _mother's_ fiancée?! But what about my father? And why had he killed her then?

"Things are not always as they appear," Bashere murmured. "She and I were to be married, to enforce and alliance between her clan and my own. But then _Rei_ came." Bashere spit out my father's name like a curse, his face twisting into a snarl. I unconsciously took another step back, fear coiling itself around in my stomach. Even though I knew exactly who--and what--he was he'd only been civil with me so far and so seeing this darker side of him reminded me that he was indeed the current Battle Lord of the Makai and had earned that place.

When he saw my fear however, Bashere's face softened and he took a deep calming breath before continuing. "He hung around for a few weeks; no one knew where he'd come from. And then Shantel-chan ran away with him on the very day that we were to be married." His mouth tightening, Bashere looked over my head, staring off into space, probably lost in memories. When he spoke again, his voice was softer. "He took her away from me. My dear Shantel-chan..."

Hesitantly, but indeed curious, I spoke up. "But...I mean, if-- if it was just an arranged marriage then..."

Bashere smirked down at me again, though I noticed that this time it was tinged with bitterness. "Yes," he replied. "It was an arranged marriage, but I was also so much more. I'd loved her for so long...so long...and then, just when I was about have her, she was stolen away from right under my nose."

Against my wishes, I found myself feeling almost sympathetic for Bashere. This was remedied, however, when I realized that he was speaking about my mother as if she was an object; a trophy. Plus, I thought, a little incensed, my mother had every right to marry who ever she wished!

In the mean time, Bashere appeared to have composed himself a little more and had slipped on a mask of indifference. His eyes still studying me, he continued his tale. "So I searched for them. It took me a little while before I was able to trace them to the Ningenkai. Once I did however, I tracked them to their home and killed them." I found myself shivering once more, though this time it was because of his voice. His voice was cold. Cold and satisfied. "I thought that was the end of it, but then imagine my surprise when I found out that Shantel had had two children while she was in the Ningenkai. Of course I just had to invite you here and see you for myself."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then why, exactly," I snarled. "Did you send two youkai to kill us, one of them several times!"

"Well, I had to test you of course; I couldn't invite pathetic weaklings here to my tournament."

I found my eye twitching. This guy might have been entrancing at first--and perhaps still was, I admitted grudgingly--but he spoke so simply of death! Did lives matter nothing to him?!

_Of course not_, a little voice whispered in the back of my mind, _Just look at his eyes__the eyes of a killer._

An infuriating smirk plastered on his face, Bashere abruptly swept past me, his feet making no sound as he walked. "I look forward to seeing the rest of your matches," he murmured as he passed me.

I stood frozen in place for a moment longer, before quickly gathering some courage and turning around. As I opened my mouth to question the dark haired youkai however, I froze, seeing that there was no one in the hallway. Spinning around the face the other way, I saw that there was no one there either. Shivering, I hesitantly began to make my way out of the arena once more.

I never noticed that my hands were trembling.


	29. Chapter 28: Broken Chains of Life

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, people, but I got a bit too wrapped up in a new story that I've been working on. It's actually a Harry Potter story called Shades of Grey. For more information on it, check out my profile. (**grins**) Anyway, I've been putting almost all of my time into this story. It's already 6 chapters and nearly 50,000 words long. For an idea of just how long that is, well...my average chapter for this story is 3-4,000 words long (**grins widely**). This whole story is 52,000 words long right now, and that's with 27 chapters! So yeah, the HP story is going to be very long. (**smirks**)

Well, anyways, back onto topic...

...I'm tempted to up rating of this story because of what happens in this chapter, but then it doesn't _really_ go beyond PG-13. So I'm just going to say this: This is a warning to anyone reading this story who is under 13 and/or doesn't like death. This story _is_ rated T, and is so for a reason.

Confused as to why I'm stating this now, so far into the story? Well, read to the end of this chapter and you'll find out. The kiddy gloves are off with this chapter, people. When reading/watching Yu Yu Hakusho or reading/writing YYH fanfics, we tend to forget that these are youkai, demons, whom we are dealing with. The very last line in this chapter is a reminder of exactly who/what the beings in YYH are.

Well, now that that morbid warning is over with, on to brighter topics (**grins**). I had a lot of fun writing the beginning of this chapter, especially because I didn't plan the scene at all; rather it just came to me as I was typing it. I think you'll enjoy it (**grins again**). Well, read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - Onna means woman.  
(2) - Neko youkai are cat demons (neko means cat).  
(3) - Want to see what he looks like? There's a link to a picture of him on my profile, under the "pics" section.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Seer Vixion!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 28  
_Broken Chains of Life_

* * *

When I slipped into the hotel suite that my team was sharing only Jessica was there. She looked up as I closed the door behind me and frowned when she saw that it was me. 

"Kristy," she said, worry clear in her voice and only accented by the frown on her face. "What took you so long? We waited for you for a while outside of the hotel before the boys decided to go in and get lunch. I've been waiting for you up her for well over ten minutes."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, smiling weakly and hoping that I looked at least relatively composed. "Ah, sorry about that..." I said while racking my brain for an excuse; I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to tell anyone--not even my brother--about what I had just found out. Did Jason even know or had our parents never told him? And if he did know then how come he never explained it to me? "I...I just wanted to walk alone for a little bit. This whole tournament is a little overwhelming, you know?"

Jessica nodded sympathetically, apparently appeased by my explanation. "Well, okay. Just be careful; this _is_ the Makai."

I could help but chuckle at this. "It's interesting to hear that coming from an angel."

"_Half_ angel," Jessica corrected, a smile playing around her lips. I smirked in reply, already feeling better. It's amazing how friends can pick you up, even when they don't know that something is wrong.

"Hey," I said suddenly. "I think I'm going to step outside for a bit, okay?" Jessica nodded and picked up the book that she had been reading before I'd come in, attention quickly captured by the text. Chuckling lightly under my breath, I made my way past her, toward the room that she and I were sharing. There was a balcony attached to each of the rooms and I figured that that would be a great place to get some fresh air while not having to worry about the busy streets.

A moment later I entered my room and made my way toward the slide door that was off to the side. Pulling it open, I stepped outside and was immediately assaulted by the sounds of the city. Youkai below were harking their wares and the general hubbub of the voices of thousands of people blanketed the city. Leaning against the railing and peering out at the city--which I was starting to realize _was_ fairly large--I was surprised how much it felt like...home. It was busy and filled with life, but there were no cars, no pollution, no skyscrapers. However, it was by no means an uncivilized place as I might have imaged it to be. Indeed, youkai seemed to be as technologically advanced as ningens, but they apparently had decided to forgo some things, such as automobiles.

Sighing, I leaned back and contented myself with just staring out at the scenery, noting offhandedly that I could just barely see the forest beyond the city. I stayed like that for at least five minutes, the wind gently blowing around me. Finally I noticed that I was starting to get really hungry--though that's not that surprising considering that I haven't eaten anything since this morning _and_ I had a match today.

I turned to go back inside when suddenly I heard a snapping noise around my neck. Reacting on instinct, I reached my hand up just in time to catch the pendant that Hiei had given me as it started to fall, the chain having apparently broken--my fight must have weakened it somehow. As I held it however, the chain continued to slip down. I quickly bent down and attempted to catch it, but I didn't move fast enough and the thin chain slipped through the cracks between the wooded planks of the balcony. Fortunately, I noticed that it _had_ landed on the balcony below mine.

Though sighing in relief, I also cursed myself for my clumsiness. I needed to be more careful! That had been a Christmas gift from Hiei and I definitely didn't want to loose it. As I realized what I had just thought, my face quickly heated up, but I pushed away my embarrassment in favor of getting my chain back.

For a moment I contemplated going to the suite on the floor below and simply asking if I could go and retrieve the chain, but I immediately discarded that idea because whoever's team that was could easily take advantage of the situation despite the "no violence outside of the arena" rules that were in place. Besides that though, most likely the team was eating dinner with everyone else. Instead of wasting my time--and possibly my life--I slowly started to lower my self over the edge of the balcony, purposely ignoring the fact that I was five floors up and probably wouldn't survive the fall if I slipped. Using all of my agility, I swung myself onto the balcony below, landing in a crouch. I reached forward to grab my chain, only to freeze when a voice spoke.

"Is there any particular reason that you're dropping into other's people's rooms?"

My head quickly snapped upwards, surprised. I hadn't heard or smelt anyone from above! In the shadows of the corner of the balcony a pair of narrowed red eyes watched me careful before Hiei stepped out further, revealing himself.

I barely stopped myself from blanching. Fuck. Fuck fuck _fuck_. Why do I always happen to get myself into these situations? And how ironic is it that the Reikai Tentai's suite just happens to be below my teams, and that Hiei's room is right below my own? Slowly, I pick up the chain that my hand had been hovering over before straightening out of my crouch, gulping uneasily. Carefully, I tightened the hold I had on the pendant; I couldn't let Hiei see it or he'd immediately recognize it, and thus me.

"Erm, sorry about that," I said laughing nervously. "My chain broke and fell." I held the chain up in front of my, as if to validate my statement.

Hiei raised one thin eyebrow. "And you couldn't knock on the room door to ask get it back?"

"Uh, well, actually, I figured that you'd all be at dinner..." I replied, trailing off weakly. I had to forcefully stop myself from rubbing the back of my head; it was a nervous habit that I had that Hiei would most certainly recognize. Already, he seemed to be somewhat suspicious, though I'd probably be too if some demon just dropped down onto my balcony.

To my surprise however, Hiei suddenly began to chuckle. I tensed in surprise, but he just walked over and leaned against the balcony next to me. Watching my out of the corner of his eyes, he smirked at me, saying nothing.

Slightly annoyed, I scowled at Hiei, forgetting all of my previous nervousness. "What?" I snapped. Hiei just chuckled again, not answering. "What the hell is so funny?!"

Hiei turned to face me, so that his side was leaning against the side of the balcony. "Tell me, onna**(1)**," he murmured. "Did it even occur to you that going into the territory of unknown youkai during the most infamous tournament might be dangerous?

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yeah," I replied, nervous again. "...That's kind why I didn't knock..." Hiei snorted, but didn't say anything in reply. "Um...I'm...going to get...going now..." I hesitated then, suddenly realizing that it would be really nearly impossible to climb back onto my own balcony.

Noticing my dilemma, Hiei looked at me incredulously. "You can't seriously tell me that you never even thought of how you would get back?"

"Well..." I stuttered, my face heating up. "I..."

Sighing, Hiei pushed off of the side of the balcony and opened the slide door to his room. "Well," he said, looking back at me, "Come on."

Nervous once more, I followed Hiei through the suite that the Reikai Tentai were sharing, offhandedly noticing that it was of the same design as my team's suite. When we reached the door to the hallway, Hiei held it open for me.

"Be more aware next time, will you onna?" Hiei commented dryly, smirking. I laughed nervously before quickly dashing out into the hall and toward the elevator.

Had I looked back I would have seen Hiei's smirk turn into a frown as his narrowed follow me down the hall.

* * *

The next day found my team once again in the waiting room, agitatedly waiting for our team to be called for our match in the quarter finals to begin. It was not at all surprising to find out that the wait as just as nerve wracking today as it had been yesterday. I suppose we were a bit more confident because we'd made it past the preliminaries, but at the same time the rest of teams there had as well. I wasn't sure what had happened to the teams that had lost; I figured that they would either leave or stay to watch the rest of the tournament. 

I also happened to notice that both the Reikai Tentai and Rhurac's team had made it to this round. No surprise there I supposed. My eyes were wandering the room when the same red skinned, white haired youkai entered the room. All of the teams tensed up, wondering who would be the next to go.

The youkai moved to the middle of the room like usual and called out, "Next up is Team Kagekaze versus Team Neko. Please enter the arena."

I gulped nervously; here we go again. As my team and I walked to the doors, I glanced behind us and I noticed that the team would were up against was comprised completely of neko youkai**(2)**. I felt my eye twitch slightly; great, I was a wolf youkai and was going up against _cats_. Sighing, I looked back ahead of myself, only to have to shield my eyes as we entered the bright arena. Ignoring the roaring crowd around us, my team headed to the same bench as last time, where we all gathered around.

"Okay," Jason began, taking up his roll as team captain, "We know that this team is made up entirely of neko youkai, which gives us a bit of an edge since they have no idea what our abilities are. However, we also have to be careful because they'll doubtless have something up their sleeves; they certainly didn't get this far on pure luck."

We all nodded and Jason opened his mouth to continue about the lineup, but Chris quickly interrupted him, "I'd like to go first." We all glanced at him in surprise, but his jaw was set with determination. Almost sadly, I realized that he was determined to prove himself; he had lost last time and wanted to win this time. The others seemed to realize this as well and, after a moment of contemplation, Jason nodded.

"Alright," my currently silver haired brother said. "And then after that--"

"Then I'll go," Jin interjected. Grinning, he continued, "I didn't get to fight at all last time."

Jason chuckled and nodded again. He then glanced over his should and noticed that one of youkai from the other teams was already walking to the center of the arena. Frowning, Jason turned back to address us.

"We'll decide from there then," he said before patting Chris on the shoulder. "You're up. Good luck." The rest of us echoed Jason's statement and Chris grinned at us, giving a two fingered wave over his shoulder before heading to the center of the arena, where he stood across from his opponent.

The neko youkai that Chris would be fighting was a very lean guy who was a couple of inches taller than Chris. He had shaggy dark brown hair and golden eyes that were slitted like a cat's. He also had dark makeup around his eyes, which only furthered the effect. The youkai had a tan colored cat tail that was lashing around behind him and a pair of tan cat ears--one of which had a chunk missing, as if someone had taken a bit out of it. The neko youkai was wearing a sleeveless shirt made of leather that had many straps crossing it, a pair of tight leather pants, a pair of black boots, and pair of fingerless gloves that reached up his elbows. They were fingerless for a reason though, as could be seen from the long, sharp nails protruding from his fingers.**(3)**

Despite his intimidating appearance, however, Chris stood confidently before him, eagerly waiting for the match to begin. Having learned his lesson last time, an ice spear was already in his hands.

Next to Bashere, the announcer spoke up once more, repeating what he'd said last time, and apparently said at the beginning of every match, "The first person who is unable to continue to fight, who forfeits, or who dies is the loser. Shihajimeru!"

Instantaneously, the cat youkai leapt forward, slashing at Chris with his claws, and Chris brought up his spear in front of himself to block the attack. The youkai's sharp claws grated against the ice of the spear and for a moment I was sure that the ice would break. Fortunately, the spear held strong, and Chris managed to shove the neko off.

Chris and the neko youkai then began to circle each other, both slashing out every now and then, but neither ever doing any real damage. Offhandedly, I noticed that they were both sizing each other up, attempting to figure out each other's strengths and weaknesses.

With a shiver, I realized how different this round already was from the last one; it was almost as though the competition was on a completely different level. Last time we all had just jumped into the battle and quickly fought off our opponents. This time however, it appeared as though we were going to have to strategize a lot more if we even wanted to survive; this team wasn't going to play around like the last team had.

After a couple more minutes of generally pointless banter, Chris finally decided to take action. As soon as the neko youkai began to leap backwards after his latest attack, Chris suddenly slammed the butt of his spear into the ground. Immediately following, ice spread out from where the spear was resting on the ground, quickly moving to cover the area around behind where the youkai was about to land.

As soon as the neko youkai landed on the now icy land, he began to loose his footing and slip. He quickly leaned forward however, digging his claws into the ground even as he slid backward. After a few moments, the youkai was able to bring himself to a stop, but by then Chris had already made his next move.

Hearing a noise above him, the neko youkai only had a bare moment to look up to see Chris in the air, leaping towards him, his ice spear spinning above him. Chris slammed the spear into the spot where the youkai was--or had been; the neko managed to move away just in time to avoid major damage. Chris didn't stop there however and immediately began to manipulate the ice around them to rise up, twisting like thick vines, to attack.

The next few minutes of the battle had everyone on the edges of their seat. While nothing too dramatic happened, everyone--including myself--was wondering how the fight was going to turn out. Chris was constantly on the attack, using his thick vines on ice, and the neko was constantly leaping and twisting away, always only just barely dodging the attacks. While the youkai did receive some damage, he faired pretty well, especially considering the circumstances. After a while however, the neko youkai finally decided that it was his turn.

Leaping off a vine of ice as it crashed into the spot where he been just moments before, the neko youkai began to run towards Chris. As soon as he'd come close enough--which was about fifteen feet from Chris--he stretched one of his hands forward and used the other to steady that hand. Instantaneously, black blurs erupt from around the youkai's hands, quickly flying towards Chris. Blinking in surprise, I realized that these black objects were actually...bats?

Chris seemed to be just as surprised as me, which caused him to hesitate for a moment. In that small amount of time the bats reached Chris, screeching loudly. Chris immediately ducked, covering his head with his arms while at the same time manipulating his ice to attack the bats. I couldn't help but sweatdrop and Chris began to run around in circles, the bats flying around his head and screeching annoyingly.

'_You have __got__ to be kidding me..._'

The bats did what they were probably created for however, and while Chris was distracted the neko youkai had moved forward. When Chris was looking the other way the youkai struck, his claws flashing through the air. Chris wasn't as oblivious as he'd appeared to be however, and he quickly spun around, brining his ice spear up to block the neko once more.

The neko moved faster though, and, before Chris could even react, swept one of his hands under the spear, slashing Chris across the chest. Chris reeled in shock for a moment, unconsciously stepping back. Using my currently blue haired friend's pause to his advantage, the neko youkai quickly dodged under Chris guard and went to swipe at him again, this time going for Chris' throat.

Reacting completely upon instinct, Chris struck out with his spear. The neko youkai's claws stopped just inches from Chris' face and didn't move any farther. Similarly, Chris stood frozen in shock, staring at the red-tinted tip of his ice spear that was sticking out from the neko youkai's back; unintentionally, Chris had shoved his spear straight through the youkai's chest. Still shocked, Chris let the shaft of his spear fall from his limp hands. The spear slid out of the neko with a sickening squelch and, unsupported, the neko fell back onto the ground with a dull thud. His golden eyes stared unseeing up at the clear blue sky.

And the crowd went wild.


	30. Chapter 29: The Neko Twins

A/N: Alright people, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, but I had some major writer's block with Jessica's battle. In the end though, I just cut it out and started it in the next chapter instead (**grins**) That's why this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. Well, anyway, enjoy! I'm going to get back to working on the next chapter, which I'm having a blast writing (**grins again**) Read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - Picture of him? Again, there's one in my pic section.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 29  
_The Neko Twins_

* * *

I stared, shocked at what had just occurred. Even as the crowd above me in the stands roared with approval, I couldn't take my eyes off the corpse of the neko youkai. Chris' horrified face didn't even register in my mind; I was to busy focusing on the blood that was pooling around the neko. I could feel my pulse quickening as my blood pounded in my veins and adrenalin filled me.

And I was horrified by what I was feeling.

I wasn't sure what I was more afraid of: that Chris had killed or that his killing excited me. I could feel the wolf in me howling for more blood, restless to fight. My emotions resonated with the crowd around me and I had to forcefully hold myself in check.

So engrossed in my own thoughts and emotions was I that I jumped when a hand clamped down on my shoulder. Turning my head, I looked up at Jason, who was looking down at me with understanding. With a slight shiver I noticed that the pupils of his eyes were slit even more than usual, giving him a feral look. I didn't have to look in a mirror to know that my eye looked exactly the same; slit with bloodlust. Sensing my inner turmoil, Jason squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. As his hand slipped away, I nodded my thanks to him.

Turning my attention back to the scene before me, I attempted to come to terms with what I was feeling. I knew that I was a youkai, and that as such I had certain primal instincts, but those instincts were also currently conflicting with my human morals. I frowned, watching intensely as the healers removed the neko youkai's body from the arena and escorted a shaking Chris away. Before today I had known that I would probably have some internal emotional issues, being a youkai whom was raised as a human, but I hadn't really understood exactly how that would feel. Honestly, it felt like a mini war was waging inside of me.

My mouth was still set in a tight line; I raised my gaze to look up to where Bashere was sitting. To my intense aggravation, the dark haired Battle Lord was staring at me once more, a smirk plastered across his face. I snarled at him, more annoyed than I'd ever been before; the bastard was taking _pleasure_ in my internal turmoil!

Purposely, I turned my head away from him and shoved my feelings away. I was a youkai damn it, and my childhood didn't affect my instincts, as I could quite easily tell. I was a born fighter and would prefer to trust my own instincts that the "morals" drilled into me by society. Humans were generally hypocritical idiots anyway.

His voice tight, Jason suddenly spoke up, breaking me out of my reverie. "Jin," he said, "You're up."

Jin nodded and, just by looking at his pupils I could tell that he too was being affected by bloodlust. But then, most of the stadium's occupants were too. Looking up at the center of the arena once more as Jin began to make his way onto the field, I noticed that the body of the neko youkai had been removed and that Chris had also been herded away, I couldn't help but wine as I thought of my friend; this had been his first kill and this whole situation was probably pretty difficult on him. Offhandedly I couldn't help but wonder what my first kill would be like, but then quickly pushed that thought away with a shiver; hopefully it would never come to that.

But what about Bashere? Abruptly my thoughts froze as this occurred to me. I had sworn that I would kill Bashere but before until now I hadn't really realized exactly what that entailed. Would I really be able to kill him, even if he was my parents' murderer? Would I really be able to take away someone's life...? I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyes slightly. I would have to think on this later; right now Jin's match was about to commence.

And indeed it was. Jin was standing across from another neko youkai. This one was another guy, although he only looked to be in his mid teens, despite the fact that I knew that he was much older than that. He had a Chinese look to him and had silver-grey eyes and waist length dark brown hair that was tied back. He was wearing a loose gray outfit that was tied at the waist**(1)**. A pair of dark brown cat ears with lighter brown tips was perched on his head and a similarly colored tail hung loosely behind him. Like the neko that Chris had fought, this one also had sharp claw protruding from his fingers.

"Shihajimeru!"

Instantly, the two were on each other, the neko slashing with his claws and Jin slashing with his wind, both moving with incredible speed. They bantered back forth like this, quite similarly to how Chris and his opponent had, for several minutes. Jin received a couple of scratches and the neko received a few slashes as well.

Finally after a bit the two stepped back from each other, panting. Jin narrowed his eyes at his opponent and then suddenly placed his hands before him. Wind slowly began to swirl before him but as the seconds ticked by--and the neko youkai began to leap back--it grew in speed and power until Jin was digging his feet into the ground to keep himself from being pushed away and even I could feel the wind from where I was.

A smirk coming his face, Jin suddenly moved his arms as far apart as he could before quickly bringing them together again in a clap. As his two hands reached each other however, the wind that had been building in strength exploded outward, pushing itself forward in a speeding funnel of wind.

Seeing what was coming, the young-looking neko youkai moved down into a crouch, his arms crossed before him. The wind funnel hit him straight on, sending him flying backwards. Before the youkai could hit the arena wall however, a ball of light suddenly surrounded him, exploding outward and forcing the wind to dissipate. I could feel that the light that was still surrounding the neko as he stood up was laced with youkai. Slowly, the light receded back into the neko, leaving him standing in the middle of a pit of destruction with a smile on his face.

Slowly the neko youkai began to approach Jin again. Before he took more than a couple of steps however, the neko lifted his right arm from his side so that it was parallel to the ground. He splayed out his fingers, palm facing towards the ground and then a small, fist sized ball of light formed just an inch from his palm.

It floated there for a moment before the neko suddenly swung his arms backwards and threw the ball of light with all of his strength towards Jin. As it reached my teammate, the ball suddenly exploded, sending dust flying everywhere and blocking the view of the fight. With a grunt, I covered my own eye from the debris that washed over us. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed some sore of an invisible barrier stop the dust and rock from flying into the stands.

Turning my attention back to the fight, I saw that everyone--even the neko youkai--was watching the spot were Jin had been, waiting for the dust to clear. Slowly it did, but Jin was no where in sight. The neko was immediately on guard. He whirled around, attempting to catch sight of his opponent, but saw nothing.

Suddenly, a voice--a very familiar voice--spoke out, "Looking for me, mate?"

Everyone's head quickly snapped upwards, towards where the sound had come from. The sight that met our eyes was quite interesting; there was Jin, floating in the air about 50 yards above the ground.

As soon as the neko youkai had looked up, Jin let out a blast of numerous little bullets of compressed air. They sped quickly towards the youkai, whom immediately dived out of the way.

Dropping to the ground, Jin then moved rapidly toward the neko, wind swirling around him. The neko youkai retaliated by forming more light bombs in his hands and tossing them at Jin one after another. Jin carefully avoided the bombs as best he could while trying to get close to the youkai.

After a few more futile attempts at harming Jin, the neko realized that the wind youkai was too quick in the air to be hit. So he stopped throwing the bombs and instead lunged at the incoming youkai, catching Jin by surprise.

As the two youkai collided, I saw a flash of metal as the neko youkai suddenly pulled out a pair of daggers, tossed them at Jin, and then used his own claws to swipe at him. Cursing under his breath, Jin brought up his arms to protect himself. He managed to stave off the brunt of the attack, but had deep gashes in his arms because of it, as well as a single deep slash across his chest.

Snarling, Jin shoved forward with one injured arm, creating a hardened blade of wind in his hand as he did so. The blade slashed upward across the neko youkai's chest, forcing the cat back.

The neko lay on the ground, panting, and Jin stood over him. Jin placed the tip of his wind blade on the neko youkai's throat, his mouth set in a firm line and his arms dripping blood. The neko's lip curled back in anger but, ever so slowly, he lifted his arm in a sign of surrender.

I felt myself let out a sigh of relief. Thank god. For a moment there, I was sure that Jin was going to be killed.

"Winner, Team Kagekaze!" the announcer proclaimed over the noise of the cheering crowd. As the healers came onto the field and escorted Jin and the neko youkai away, Jin glanced back at us and sent us grin. I--and probably the others behind me--couldn't help but grin in reply.

In complete opposite of the last match, we now were in the lead again Team Neko, two to none as the large screen read. If we could just win the next match then we would proceed to the next round without a single loss!

Of course, things rarely go as planned.

* * *

Currently, Touya was approaching the center of the arena for his match; he had insisted on going next. Personally, I thought that most likely he wanted to prove himself, like Chris had.

All of that aside, Touya stopped in front of his opponent and waited for the announcer to start the match. Shifting my attention to the youkai standing across from Touya, I felt myself blink. For a moment I was sure that the neko youkai that Jin had fought was fighting again. But then I noticed that this youkai had black eyes instead of silver; it was just a small difference, but it was enough.

Other than the eyes however, this neko youkai looked identical to the last one; he had the same body type, the same height, the same hair, even the same clothes! He also had the same dark brown cat ears and tail with light brown tips. Of course, this neko also wasn't scratched up and dirty like the last one was after his match, so that separated them out as well.

'_Twins..._' I realized. '_They're twins!_'

I had no more time to contemplate this strange phenomenon, as at that moment the announcer spoke up once more.

"Shihajimeru!"

Just like last time, the two were immediately on each other. Touya used his ice to attack and block while the neko used his claws. They traded blows for just a few seconds before the neko leapt backwards, away from Touya.

Smirking darkly, the neko youkai lifted his right arm from his side and caused a ball of light to form just below his hand. Unlike his brother's ball however, this one was pure black, to the point that it seemed to be sucking light in rather than emitting any. I stared at the ball with narrowed eyes; that wasn't made of shadows--I knew shadows well enough to be able to tell that--but rather it was more like...darkness, pure darkness.

His smirk widening, the neko threw the ball of darkness at Touya similarly to how his brother had done. Touya quickly, leapt out of the way, knowing what was going to happen. Or at least he'd thought he'd known.

Instead of exploding outward, the ball of darkness began to implode upon contact with the ground, pulling everything around it inward. Including some of the skin off of Touya's arm. With a hiss, Touya scrambled backward further, holding his now bleeding arm. When the dust cleared from the neko's attack, all that was left was a wide crater.

Snarling in anger, Touya leapt toward the neko youkai, attacking with his ice.

And so a new pattern was started; the neko would attack with his dark orbs and Touya would carefully avoid that attacks while attempting to deal damage to his opponent at the same time. After about five minutes, Touya had learned that his ice helped to protect him from the dark bombs, considering as it couldn't suck solid ice in very well. Still, it was taking a lot of energy out the ice youkai to have to block and attack simultaneously for so long without really getting anywhere. The neko youkai was similarly frustrated and was beginning to pant in exhaustion.

Suddenly, the neko youkai moved his hands down in front of him, so that his palms were facing the ground. Then, just as it had many times before, a ball of darkness started to form. Unlike usual though, this one was forming beneath his two hands and it didn't stop growing. It just kept enlarging and enlarging and, after only a few seconds, it had completely enveloped the neko and was still growing.

Watching with wide eyes, I saw the dark ball expand until it was about 20 feet in diameter. Touya, who was also staring at the ball with wide and confused eyes, began back up so that he wasn't touched by the ball. Before he could move any further however, the ball suddenly stopped growing.

Everyone, including all the spectators in the stands watched with bated breath, wondering what was going to happen. Before anyone could even blink however, the large ball suddenly imploded. It was similar to what all the smaller balls had done, only on a _much_ larger level.

Touya was immediately pulled in, along with tons of dust and rock fragments. A large booming sound was also cause upon implosion, causing me to cover my ears with a hiss. Still, despite the pain that my ears were in, my gaze was still fixated onto the arena, which was currently completely covered in clouds of dust. No one could see what was going on or what happened.

Slowly--ever so slowly--the dust began to clear. As it did, I could make out two shadowy figures, but nothing more than that. Finally, after what had probably been a minute but felt like an hour, we could see the field in the middle of the stadium.

There were two figures lying prone on the ground; Touya and the neko youkai. They were both unconscious and looking as though they had been to hell and back; the ground was already becoming stained red with blood from their various lacerations. I couldn't help but wince at the state that both of them were in.

"Both participants are unable to continue!" the announcer called out. "The match is a tie!"

I felt myself release a breath. Well, at least the other team didn't get a point, even if we didn't either. And hopefully Touya would be okay too.

"Alright," Jason began, calling us all close. "Who is next?"

"I-- I'll go," Jessica stated hesitantly. When she saw that all of us were looking at her, her back straightened, as if she was attempting to prove that she was more than ready. Jason paused before nodding his acceptance. We all then exchanged words of good luck with her before she set out toward the middle of the arena without a backward glance.

As my best friend headed toward her opponent, I couldn't help but worry. She had won her last match mainly from surprising her opponent, but nothing said that this youkai would react the same way. Don't get me wrong, Jessica is a good fighter, it's just that she doesn't have the same instincts that all youkai naturally have. Being an angel, her instincts are more geared toward being kind and helping people. The Makai is definitely not the best place for her to be.

The youkai whom Jessica would be fighting was unlike one I'd ever seen before. She looked young--as in maybe twelve or thirteen--and had short brown hair and wide purple eyes. Surprisingly, she was wearing a black and white school uniform--one with a short skirt. A pair of small brown ears was perched on her head and a brown tail peeked out from beneath her skirt.

Over all, if she hadn't had the cat ears and tail I would have thought that she was a ningen girl. She certainly looked too innocent to be a fighter, let alone in this tournament. That, however, is what made me watch the neko youkai with narrowed eyes. Appearance could be deceiving and, in the Makai, it could help one to survive. Unfortunately, Jessica might not fight her hardest against this opponent because of how innocent the neko appeared. This was probably the worst opponent for Jessica to get.

"Shihajimeru!"


	31. Chapter 30: The Underhanded Switch

A/N: Hello everyone (**grins**) I'm trying to get back on my update-once-every-week schedule again, so hopefully you'll start seeing more regular updates now. Well, I'm sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but I was stuck between either posting this chapter and the next chapter as one single, long chapter _next_ week, or just posting them separately. You can obviously tell what I've decided (**smirks**) Well, I don't have much else to say right now, so please read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - Because I didn't place it in the last chapter (**sweatdrops**), you can find a picture of this neko in my profile now.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 30  
_The Underhanded Switch_

* * *

"Shihajimeru!"

Jessica quickly leapt back from the neko youkai, her wings unfurling behind her. The neko's eyes widened in shock, before she suddenly smiled widely, causing herself too look even more like an innocent little kitten.**(1)**

In the face of her adversary, Jessica hesitated, unable to simply attack like she had in the last round.

The little neko, however, had no such reservations. She immediately hopped toward Jessica, a bright smile still on her face. The neko's claws flashed forward, swiping at the angel before her, while she herself almost threw herself at Jessica. Thinking quickly, Jessica threw her self into the air, her wings beating rapidly. The sudden wind from her wings managed to cause the neko youkai to stop and use her arms to shield her eyes, while Jessica flew higher into the air.

The next few minutes of the fight were fairly uneventful. Like a cat watching a bird, the neko youkai prowled around the arena, watching Jessica who was circling around in the air. My best guess was that Jessica was attempting to come up with some sort of a plan to take down her opponent, without hurting the neko too much. I couldn't help but sigh; this certainly was a great contrast to Chris' fight, but then Jessie _was_ an angel, not a youkai.

After a couple of minutes of pouncing around, the neko seemed to get bored. She plopped down in the middle of the arena with her arms crossed in front of her and a childish pout on her face. Hesitant, Jessica slower her flight down a bit, not entirely sure what to do next.

The neko youkai solved that problem for the half angel rather quickly however. Slowly she stood up and place one arm before her. Then, she made a quick motion with her other hand, slashing herself across the arm. In the air above, Jessica froze, her face filled with shock. I'm sure that my own face mirrored hers.

Before Jessica could react any further however, the neko suddenly swiftly brought her arm back, before making a slashing motion with said arm. To Jessica's great shock, the neko's blood that had been on her claws seemed to have somehow formed into solid blades and said blood was now rushing toward her.

Thinking quickly, Jessica dove out of the day, but not before she was nicked slightly on the arm. Jessica's eye narrowed and I couldn't help but smile slightly; this was exactly what Jessie had needed to get rid of some of her reservations.

Just as I was coming out of my thoughts, Jessica suddenly dove downwards toward the neko youkai, disks of pure light forming in her hands. As soon as she got closer to the neko--who was starting to back away--she tossed the disks at her. They immediately whizzed through the air and hit the young neko, despite her attempts to dive away.

Instantly, almost as she was a puppet whose strings had been cut, the girl dropped to the ground, unmoving and her skin hissing slightly where she'd been hit; Jessica's attacks tended to have that kind of an effect on youkai. Jessica circled around in the air a couple of times before she cautiously landed before her downed opponent.

Jessica hesitated again then, unsure about whether or not her opponent was truly down, but eventually her concern overrode her caution and she knelt down next to the neko, reaching one hand out to check the girl's pulse.

Jessica must have seen something though, for not a moment later she quickly began to draw back. It was too late by then however, and the neko suddenly stuck out with one hand, scratching her angel opponent across the face.

Jessica fell backwards from the force of the blow and when she looked up again, the neko youkai was standing over her, one claw pointed at her throat.

"Winner, Team Neko!" the announcer called out. The crowd grumbled a bit at the lack of major bloodshed, but cheered anyway. In front of my tam's bench however, I stood frozen with surprised, as well as a touch of relief that Jessica was alright. She was bleeding, yes, but the neko had completely missed Jessica's eyes, so scarring was the only thing that she really had to worry about.

As healers came out onto the field, the large scoreboard came up, showing that the current score was Team Kagekaze: 2, Team Neko: 3. My mouth tightened slightly; this wasn't good...

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Jason. It was just the two of us now. Both of us would have to win our upcoming matches into order to continue onto the next round, while the Neko team only needed to win one more. And they knew it too, if their smirking faces were anything to go by.

Jason turned to face me. "They'll be sending their captain up next," he said. "They'll want to make sure that they'll win." And indeed, just as Jason finished speaking we both noticed that the youkai whom was the Neko team's captain--all of the captains had been pointed out during the opening ceremony--had begun to step forward.

Jason turned all of his attention back to me and then began to speak while walked backwards, heading toward the center of the arena.

"Good luck with your match, Kris..." he began hesitantly, "...And please be careful."

I smirked lightly. "Same to you, Jay!" I called in reply. Then, in a quieter voice as he waved in acknowledgement, I repeated, "Same to you..."

However, as soon as Jason turned back around, both he and I froze. Standing in the middle of the arena was not the opposing team's captain, but the other member of the team. Back where the Neko team's bench was, the Neko captain stood with a full-blown grin on his face.

We'd been tricked! I realized with shock. When Jason had had his back turned, the Neko captain had switched with the other youkai. I felt my insides go cold. This meant that I was going to have to fight the captain myself. Even if Jason won his match, I would still have to fight and _win_ against the captain in order to get our team to advance.

I took a deep breath and released it, attempting to keep my panic at bay. I could do this. I'd won my first match easily enough after all...But that had been just the first round of the tournament. This team had already won their first match as well, and this was their _captain_.

Jason seemed to have realized this as well. The expression on his face was absolutely murderous, though there were flickers of concern as well. I'm sure that he was furious at the Neko team, but I could only hope that his anger would just help him to win his match and not distract him too much. If he got sloppy with his match...I felt a shiver of concern for my older brother and could only hope that he really would be careful.

Jason strode the rest of the way to the center of the arena, where he stood rigidly with his arms crossed before him. The neko across from his was female and appeared to be about sixteen or so. She had waist length black hair--that was actually pretty similar to my own--and a studding emerald green eye. I say _eye_ because her left eye was covered by a strip of black cloth that lay slanted on her head. The neko also had a pair of cat ears and a cat tail that were black with deep purple tips.

The neko youkai was wearing a fairly interesting outfit, pretty ningen-like in my opinion. She had on a pair of baggy green cargo pants and a black muscle shirt. Over that she wore a dark purple trench coat with a metal-studded belt around her waist, keeping the coat partially open so that her outfit beneath could be seen. Finally, she had a katana by her side.

The neko grinned at Jason, but my brother simply glared harder at her. He waited in stony silence until the announcer spoke up once more.

"Shihajimeru!"

Instantly, Jason had his katana out of its sheath and swinging towards his opponent. The neko had quick reflexes however, and she pulled her own katana out of its sheath to meet Jason's with a loud clash of steel. Jason did not stop there though. He continued to push the neko youkai back, his blade flashing through the air strike after strike.

I found myself in awe of my brother. I'd seen him fight before, of course, but I'd never seen him go all out like this. His movements were graceful, but also powerful and precise. He seemed to flow from one motion to the next, while all the while putting all of his strength--which quite considerable--behind his steps.

He was like wind, I realized. He was like a quiet, soothing breeze one moment and a harsh cutting hurricane the next. I could honestly say that I'd never seen anything like it before.

Jason and the neko youkai continued to exchange blows for a couple more minutes, neither ever gaining the upper hand. Jason was just a little stronger than the neko, but she was just a little bit faster; they seemed to be evenly matched.

The neko had a large grin on her face as she fought, her eyes dancing with amusement. Though Jason attempted to keep his face straight for the most part, he too sported a small smile, showing just how much he was enjoying the fight.

After a couple of minutes of this standstill fighting, Jason suddenly leapt backwards. Both youkai were breath hard. Jason stared the neko down for a minute, when abruptly a harsh wind swept through the arena, as if it had been summoned--which doubtless it had been. The wind easily stirred up the dust and just moment later the two fighting figures were hidden from view. A few seconds later, when the dust had settle once more, Jason was no where to be seen.

The neko quickly looked around--including up--but could find no sign of her elusive opponent. Just then however, I saw movement in the neko's shadow. Quickly, but quietly, Jason rose out of the shadow itself. I felt me eyes widen; I had never seen him do _that_ before!

As soon as Jason was completely out of the shadow he struck forward like a viper, firmly pressing the blade of his katana against the neko's throat. The neko youkai froze instantly but, surprising, just a moment later relaxed again, a small smirk forming on her face. She murmured something to Jason, causing his eyes to widen momentarily, and then suddenly threw herself forward onto Jason's blade--

--Only to disperse into what appeared to be liquid shadows.

I stared on in shock. What had just happened?! Don't tell me that _she_ can manipulate shadows too! Before Jason could even react to the strange turn of events however, the shadows suddenly back and reform into the neko. She was standing behind Jason now, facing away from him, with her katana pointed backward so that the tip was resting on the side of Jason's neck.

The two of them stood frozen in place like that for the next few seconds--very long seconds, it seemed to me--each of them waiting to see what the other would do. Finally, Jason suddenly moved away, faster than my eyes could follow. His and the neko's katana flashed through the air once more and they once again began their back and forth battle. This time, however, things were on an entirely different level.

I stood there watching the fight with my mouth hanging open. If I had thought the battle was intense before, then this was just insane. Now as they fought they were both adding blows from shadows to harm for their opponent more or to trip them up. At the same time, Jason was adding strikes from his wind whenever he could. Before long they both were covered in still-forming bruises and minor lacerations.

Fortunately--or unfortunately, depending on you looked at it--the match wouldn't last too much longer. It was actually kind of amusing to see how the ending happened, especially since it was kind of an accident.

Quite simply, the neko slipped on a pebble. All of Jason's attempts to trip her up had done nothing, but a simply pebble beneath her feet made her slip. The neko was, however, able to catch herself by falling forward on her hands so that she was on the ground on all fours. When she looked up, Jason's katana was pointed as her face.

The neko stared at the blade--going crossed eyed for a moment--before her in surprise, before suddenly beginning to laugh as she fell back and set on the ground in surrender. Jason blinked, surprised, and then cracked a grin himself. A second later, however, the grin fell and was replaced with a tight frown as he remembered his earlier anger.

"Winner," the announcer suddenly called out as several healers came out into the arena, "Team Kagekaze!" The usual cheering preceded the declaration, of course, and then the score came up, showing that we were now tied with Team Neko.

Immediately, I felt my good mood drop. Crap. Now it was just my battle. Just my battle to decide whether or not my team would win. Just my battle against an experienced youkai fighter who was hundreds of years older than me. I gulped fearfully and then carefully wiped all emotions from my face. I wondered offhandedly if neko youkai could smell fear...Dear Kami I hoped not.

Straightening my back once more, I began to stride toward the center of the arena, towards my opponent. For better or for worse, I was going to fight this battle.


	32. Chapter 31: Cats vs Dogs, er, Wolf

A/N: Sorry about the long wait people (though, granted, only two weeks (**sweatdrops**)), but I had a bit of writer's block. You'll be happy to know though that it's long gone now and that once it disappeared ideas started flooding my mind and I'm now working on writing chapter 34 (**grins widely**). Well, this chapter I actually had a lot of fun writing, if only because Kristy's opponent is just about one of my favorite characters in this story right now. Pay attention to this chapter, because he--the opponent--will have a pretty big affect of Kristy and mention of him will pop up every now then. Well, read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 31

_Cats vs. Dogs...Er, Wolf_

* * *

As I stood before my opponent, I let my eyes rake over his figure. He was fairly tall--just over six feet or so, so actually about the same height as my brother. Of course, this meant that he seemed huge to me as I barely even came up to his elbow--and well-muscled, though not bulky. He was actually pretty lean in my opinion; a true tom cat. He had spiky black hair and a pair of coal black eyes. The neko also had a pair of cat ears and a cat tail that were pure black. His left ear, I noticed, had a little part missing.

Age wise, the neko captain appeared to be in his mid-twenties, which meant he was probably at least 300 years old. He was wearing a black muscle shirt with a high neck and a pair of torn black pants. His upper arms were wrapped in bandages, as were his feet, which were bare. The neko held a light smirk on his face, and his eyes sparkled with amusement.

Before I could continue my observations however, the announcer's voice suddenly rang out throughout the arena. "Shihajimeru!"

Instantly, I tensed up, expecting an attack, but it never came. The neko youkai just stood there with his arms crossed before him with that amused look in his eyes. Finally, after a moment, the neko lowered himself into a slight bow.

"I'm Ty," he introduced. I felt my mouth drop open as I stared at the neko before me. He however, just let his smirk widen. "Don't you know that it's polite to introduce yourself to your opponent?" he asked--well, more commented, really, but that was beside the point--as he titled his head to the side, looking thoroughly amused.

My first thought was that this was some sort of a trick to get me to lower my guard. I could definitely see him doing that, considering the underhanded switch that he'd pulled earlier. And after all, why else would he be acting to polite...ish...

Deciding to just go along with it for now, I returned Ty's bow, although I didn't take me eyes off hi, "Kristy," I replied shortly. I hesitated then, unconsciously tensing up, before voicing a question that had been on my mind for a while. "Why...why did you switch with your other teammate? Wouldn't you rather fight a team captain?"

Ty chuckled. "I suppose," he replied. "But you interest me a lot more. I've actually heard quite a bit about your last match..."

As he trailed off, I felt my eyes widening as I realized that he was speaking about my ability to use multiple elements. My eyes narrowed once more and I began to watch Ty a bit more closely. This wasn't good; he knew a bit about how I fought, but I knew absolutely nothing about him.

Suddenly, I realized that Ty and I had begun to slowly circle each other while talking. I carefully gripped the hilt of my katana; thank Kami that he only had his claws as a weapon...But, then again, that probably means that he'd good enough of a fighter to only need his claws while still being a captain...Crap...

"Though," Ty suddenly said, a contemplative expression on his face, "I certainly didn't expect the reaction that my switch received from you team captain. I mean, he still got to fight Kana, who could possibly beat me in a fight."

I raised a single eyebrow. "That's probably because he's my older brother..."

Ty blinked, surprised, and then suddenly chuckled. "Yes," he commented, absently nodding his head, "That'd make sense." He paused and then grinned, clapping his hands together once. "Well, let's get started then, shall we?

Without any further warning, Ty suddenly lunged at me. I quickly pulled my katana from its sheathe and brought it up before me, just barely in time to block Ty's claws from shredding my face. I was momentarily surprised by my neko opponent's sudden ferocity, but I quickly shrugged it off in favor of shoving Ty away and retaliating with an attack of my own.

From there a back and froth battle ensued, not too dissimilar from Jason's own battle. However, after only a minute or so, large difference started to become quite clear.

From the numerous sparring sessions that we'd had, I had found that I was just a little bit faster than my brother, if only because he focused more on strength and because of my smaller stature. In fact, I was the fasted of all my friends, and this lead me to shape my fighting style around speed and agility. Now, however, as I fought, I realized that Ty was on an entirely different level.

Every time I struck, he was there blocking me. Every time I blocked, he just barely managed to slip around my guard. He was just a little bit faster, just a little bit stronger, just a little bit more powerful. Before long, both of my arms and hands were covered in miniscule cute, while Ty remained untouched.

After a little while, I finally started to get a bit pissed off, not to mention terrified. Snarling, I called upon my youki and not a moment later my katana was lit with fire. Ty, however, just grinned widely, obviously expecting this to be a bit more of a challenge now. I simply glared harder at him, anger and fear welling up inside me. To my great shock, the flames on my blade suddenly grew to twice their normal size. I blinked, staring down at my blade; that had never happened before. Still, my anger didn't leave me, and I had no doubt that it was a part of what was fueling the fire.

I quickly dashed at Ty, swiping at him. He avoided it, of course, and we then went back to our usual style of battle. Now, however, the stakes were just a little bit higher.

Despite my new and improved blade though, it appeared that Ty was still just playing around with me and holding back quite a bit. To my great annoyance, I found that he had just as great an advantage over me as ever. Quickly, I racked my brain, attempting to come up with an idea of how to turn this fight in my favor.

Almost immediately, my mind jumped to the astral projection technique that Mr. Rawl had taught me. And just as quickly, I discounted it. I was told to use it during an emergency, and while this fight was definitely difficult, I didn't want to use up all the tricks that I had up my sleeves, especially not where Bashere could so easily see them. Instead, I turned my thoughts to the other psychic abilities that I had. Ty wouldn't expect any of them; he'd said that he knew about my other match, but I hadn't used any of my psychic abilities there.

Immediately, I felt a smirk form on my face; this plan would work out perfectly.

Still fighting with all I had--if only to avoid getting my head chopped off-I immediately dug into Ty's mind. I then sped through the halls of his mind without really even paying attention to my surroundings. I was half tempted to check out some of his memories, but I knew that I didn't have the time, even with the accelerated time here in people's minds. Soon enough I was into Ty's ability room, then through it, without having even paid attention to what I'd seen.

I then found myself standing in the empty conscious room. I quickly detached a part of my youki and left it there, before pulling out of Ty's mind--just in time to see Ty's claws swinging toward me. I quickly ducked and rolled out of the way, avoiding certain death by mere inches. I then jumped back to my feet and proceeded to leap back into the fight.

From there thing grew a bit easier for me. Now I could tell everything that Ty was going to do, before he actually did it. I was able to tell when and where he was going to strike, how he was going to block...Everything. Before long, Ty was the one who was starting to get little cuts along his arms from _me_.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Ty was still more skilled and experienced than me, but now we were fighting on at least a fairly even plane, since I now held a major advantage over him.

Of course, it didn't take Ty very long at all to notice the abrupt shift in the fighting. '_It's like she can tell what I'm going to do before I do it,_' I heard him think. He started to make his movements more random then, but it made no different to me.

'_Have I started to tire or something?_' Ty thought, a puzzled expression coming onto his face. '_No...I feel fine for the most part...And I distinctly saw her smirk before._' He paused for a moment. '_And my mental barriers are completely fine, so it's not that..._' He snorted mentally. '_Well, considering as she's apparently a fire, shadow, and wolf youkai, I highly doubt that she has any other abilities...And why the hell does she look so amused right now?_'

Indeed, I could barely stop myself from laughing aloud; listening to people's inner monologues is so entertaining. I brought my thoughts away from my amusement, however, and focused on racking my brain for ideas about what to do next; this was working out great and all, but we were still fighting to a standstill--not too unlike Jason's fight as well, now that I thought about it. I just desperately hoped that it didn't end in a similar manner however.

'_Well,_' I thought to myself, '_I could see if I can influence his mind._' I'd never really had any time to experiment and see what the extent of my psychic abilities were before, even with Mr. Rawl's teaching, and now seemed like a good a time as any to do so.

'_Ooh!_' I suddenly thought, feeling as though a light bulb had been turned on in my mind. '_I wonder if I could use his memories against him!_'

Carefully, I dove back into Ty's mind, making sure to keep myself fully aware of my physical body while I was there; it wouldn't do to have a repeat of last time. Immediately, I found myself in Ty's Conscious Room. I sighed, and then hurriedly made my way back toward the halls of his mind.

Once there, I ran straight down the hallway, throwing open any doors I saw that were marked as containing bad memories. After only a few minutes I came to the end of the hall and then retreated back into the physical world to see what effects my actions had had on my opponent.

It actually took a few seconds for it to come into effect. The first signs showed as Ty frowning fiercely as he fought. He shook his head a couple of times, trying to get grid of the memories I knew were now plaguing him, but it was no use.

Despite this however, Ty continued to fight viciously. He was a bit distracted now, but he was still determined. I frowned slightly, thinking that he had an even stronger will than I'd expected, and then increased the flow of youki that I was sending to his mind, pushing the memories to the forefront of his thoughts.

The effects were instantaneous. Ty immediately dropped to his knees, his claws retracting back into his hands. He grasped his head in his hands then, his eyes clamed shut. The worst part of it, however, was the slight, nearly inaudible whimpering and mumbling that was coming from him.

I winced slightly and looked away. I really hated seeing someone like this, especially someone whom I was kind of starting to respect, at least for his skills. I was also particularly glad that I had long since tuned out his mental thoughts, not at all wanting to hear them right now. I sighed a second time as I placed the tip of my katana against his chest, right above where his heard was. I then quickly cut off all of the youki that I was exerting into his mind. Just as the last of my presence pulled out, I could feel the echo of all the door that I'd opened suddenly closing sharply.

Immediately, Ty let out a gasp. He took a few seconds to let his heart calm down, and then all of the sudden he seemed to realize just where my katana was. His eyes quickly flew open and his head jerked upwards to stare at me. Just moments later, I could tell that he'd figured out exactly what had happened.

Just after that, the voice of the announcer rand through the stadium, once more, exclaiming the outcome of the match, "Winner: Team Kagekaze! The final score is Team Kagekaze: 4, Team Neko: 3. Team Kagekaze will proceed to the next round."

As per usual, the crowd erupted into cheers, although I could tell that many of them were quite confused about exactly what had happened in the last few minutes of the battle. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw the healers approaching. Two of them hoisted Ty to his feet and began to help him toward the door on the far end of the arena. A third one began to lead me away as well.

Inside of the infirmary, Ty had stopped nest to a large metal door, which the healers were about to lead him through. He resisted, however, and turned to face me.

"Interesting fight," he murmured while grinning. "Very interesting." I smirked in reply as he continued. "You'll be great, eventually, I can tell. You just need a little more fine tuning and experience to increase the apparently innumerous abilities that you have."

I chuckled lightly. "Thanks, Ty. It really was a great fight. I'd love to have a rematch sometime."

Ty blinked, surprised, and then stared at me for a minute like I was insane. Finally he seemed to realize something as his eyes abruptly widened and he let out a bark of a laugh.

"You really don't know, do you?" he commented, highly amused. "Yeah, I'd love a rematch too, but I'm afraid that that won't be possible."

The healers started to get a bit more impatient then, and they began to tug Ty through the doorway. He followed them willingly; though he called back over his shoulder to me. "Come on, Kristy. What did you honestly think happens to the teams that lose?"

With a loud thud, the solid metal door closed behind him.


	33. Chapter 32: The Semifinals

A/N: And we have yet another chapter released (**grins**) I have to admit that I had quite a bit of fun writing this chapter, though, of course, no where near as much fun as I had writing Ty and Kristy's battle. You may notice that not too much about Chris' reaction to the fact that he'd killed is mentioned in this chapter. That's mainly because it'll be touched upon more in the _next_ chapter. You'll see why (**grins widely**) Well read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - In Japanese Hiei means "flying shadow". That's what this is a reference to.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 32  
_The Semifinals_

* * *

I stood in front of the now closed metal door for several minutes, frozen in shock. I couldn't believe this. This just couldn't be true! What Ty had said basically was that the loosing team was killed directly after the final battle of their match. I wanted desperately for this not to be true, but several things popped into my mind at once.

I remembered, suddenly, how after Jason's fight in the last round the Tenki team had been lead through the same door that I was currently standing in front of. At the time, I'd just figured that they were being taken to a different section of the infirmary or something. But now it was so clear...

And beyond that, this just seemed like something that Bashere would do. He was effectively and "legally" killing off anyone who could oppose him. That was the other purpose of this tournament, I suddenly realized with growing trepidation. Not only had this tournament lured Jason and I out and almost guaranteed our deaths, but it also would get rid of all of the powerful youkai in the Makai. This tournament was strengthening Bashere's position in the Makai.

At the same time as these thoughts raced through my mind, determination began to well up within me. This was just another reason as to why we _had_ to defeat Bashere. With the amount of influence and power that he now wielded, he was almost unstoppable. I knew next to nothing about how the rule of the different youkai lords worked, but I had little doubt that their hands were mostly tied as well.

Unconsciously, I straightened my back and squared my shoulders. If the only way to take care of Bashere was through this tournament, then so be it. We'd just have to win.

I glanced mournfully at the large metal door one last time. In that moment I resolved to keep Ty as an example of both what I could be and what could happened to me. Without even realizing it my team and I had come so close to death. If we'd made just one mistake...I shivered at the very thought.

Purposefully, I turned my back on the metal door and strode away.

* * *

An hour later found me sitting in my hotel bedroom, worried. I felt just as determined as before, but just minutes ago something had occurred to me.

If the Reikai Tentai were as good as Jin and Touya said, then, most likely, we'd eventually have to fight them. That morning I'd have been ecstatic about that thought. Now, however, things had changed. If we managed to beat them, they would most likely be killed...I felt myself gulping. This really wasn't good; I had no idea what to do about this.

Quickly, I jumped to my feet and began pacing back and forth, suddenly glad that I was alone in the bedroom--everyone else was out in the living room. Well, except for Chris. As soon as we'd come back he'd locked himself in his room, something which I couldn't really blame him for after all that he'd gone through that day.

I really needed to do something right now--anything. Just sitting around and letting my thoughts wander was killing me. Abruptly, I swooped down and picked up my katana and stalked out of my room. Everyone in the living room jolted in surprise at my entrance, but said nothing as I walked by; I had told them earlier about what had happened to the losing team, so they probably had at least some idea of how I was feeling.

Careful not to meet any of their eyes, I swiftly moved through the room and out the front door. From there I went down through the hotel building and into the streets. Again I was struck by how similar, in some ways, this was to the Ningenkai, but I didn't let my thoughts dwell on it. Instead, I let my feet take me to the edge of the city. There, to my delight, I found what appeared to be a group of training grounds.

A large smirked crossed my face; this was perfect. Immediately, I entered the wooded area and navigated my way back until I could no longer hear the sounds of the city. There, I stopped in the middle of a clearing, pulled out my katana, and let loose.

In just a few minutes I found myself lost in the rhythm of the katas that Jason had taught me. I focused on the feeling of my muscles as I slid from motion to motion. I focused on the sound of my katana as it sliced through the air. I focused on my breathing as my eyes slid to a half-lidded state as I swiftly moved across the grass.

Exactly how long I stayed there for I couldn't say. When I finally stopped the sun was beginning to set though, so it must have been at least a few hours. As I stood there, panting, however, I suddenly became aware of a pair of eyes boring into my back. Immediately I spun around and let my eyes scan over the scenery. I quickly found the source of the disturbance however; there, sitting on the branch of a tree, staring at me, was Hiei. I felt my eyes widening, then narrowing as my muscles tensed. What the heck was he doing here?! Of course, I said as much to the red eyed youkai.

Hiei just chuckled. He leapt down from the tree limb and leaned up against the trunk of the tree instead.

"Well," he said, smirking, "I was kind of difficult not to notice the youki that was pouring off you."

I blinked, surprised. I hadn't realized that I'd been unconsciously radiating youkai. Quickly, I reigned it back in. That had never happened before--but then, I'd never been in my youkai form while practicing my katas before either.

"Your team won your match," Hiei suddenly said, breaking me out of my contemplation. It was a statement, not a question. As such, I simply shrugged in reply.

A tense silence followed this exchange as Hiei and I stared at each other. Neither of us was willing to be the first one to break the silence or the impromptu staring contest. Suddenly however, the last of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and the world was abruptly left in a deep darkness.

I couldn't help but gasp. It was so different from the Ningenkai, where day faded into dusk, which faded into night. Here there was no such smooth transition. Rather, it went from dusk to dark so suddenly that it left me floundering in surprise.

Though I couldn't see it at the moment, Hiei's eyes narrowed at me, surprised by my own surprise, and unfamiliarity with the Makai. He grunted then, drawing my attention back to him, and then was gone, moving like his namesake**(1)**.

I stood in the clearing for a couple of minutes after that, staring at the spot where Hiei had been, wondering about exactly what had just happened. It felt had though something important had just occurred, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what. Finally, I slowly turned around and trudged out of the clearing.

* * *

I let out a sigh as I closed the door to the hotel suite behind me. I made to step forward, but then abruptly stopped, finding a pissed of Jason standing before me.

"Where the hell have you been?!" he snarled out.

I stared at him wide-eyed and then quickly blurted out the first thing that came to my mind: "Umm...cheese?"

Jason stopped, anger draining about of him as confusion took hold. He stared at me, not quite sure what to make of what I'd said. "...Cheese?"

"Erm, yeah," I said, sweatdropping. "I was eating cheese..."

Jason deadpanned. "For five hours?"

Quickly, I waved my hands around before me, shaking my head. "Ah, no, no, no! I've been out training and on my way back I decided to pick up something to eat, only all the restaurant below had left was some cheese, so...yeah..."

Jason palmed his face, muttering obscenities under his breath. Chris, meanwhile, came up and ruffled my hair--much to my annoyance. I pushed the feeling away, however, in favor of feeling quite relieved that Chris seemed to be back to his normal self.

"Now there's the Kristy that we all know and love!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I was beginning to think that you were starting to become one of those brooders!"

From farther back in the room Jessica smiled as well, though hers was tinged with sadness. Instantly I knew that she too had been thinking about what would happen if we had to face the Reikai Tentai.

Turning my attention back onto Chris, I found myself grinning widely. "Never!" I proclaimed.

* * *

The next day came very quickly and before I knew it we were once again back in the waiting room. There were four of us left now for the semifinals: my team, Bashere's team, a team of youkai that I hadn't seen before, and the Reikai Tentai. Of course, I was once again nervous as hell. It wasn't so much about my abilities this time--I was starting to get pretty confident about them after two good battles--but rather it was because of whom we might be fighting next; there was a one third chance that we'd be up against the Reikai Tentai. And knowing how much of a bitch fate could be, I really wouldn't be all that surprised if that's how it turned out.

At that moment, the red-skinned youkai whom had announced all the matched previously stepped into the room. All conversation stopped as everyone turned to face him. He opened his mouth to speak then and it seemed as if he was moving incredibly slowly, though I knew that it was just the anticipation.

"The first match is Team Kagekaze versus Team Rhurac. Please enter the arena."

Instantly I felt relief run through me; thank Kami! We didn't have to fight our friends just yet. Of course, before my thoughts could go any further, I felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of my skull. I turned my head slightly; just enough to see that it was Rhurac whom was staring at me, smirking. Immediately, I smirked in reply, throwing the green-skinned youkai for a loop.

Oh, I was definitely going to enjoy this fight. A chance to get back at that slimy bastard was exactly was I needed right now. Confidently, I walked with my team into the arena.

Straight away my team headed over to the bench that we'd been using for the last two rounds. There, Jason stopped us all.

"Alright," my brother began as we gathered around him, "Unfortunately we don't know very much about this team. In the last round we at least knew that our opponents were neko youkai, and before that that they were elemental youkai, but this time it's completely up for grabs. We do, however, know that they work for Bashere; this is his team in the tournament, placed to get rid of some of the extra competition. Because of this, we need to be careful; doubtless they'll not at all be adverse to dirty tricks." A dark scowl crossed Jason's face then, and I had no doubt that he was remembering his last match.

I nodded absently, listening to Jason, though my eyes were riveted to the other side of the arena, where Rhurac and his team stood. Suddenly, I shook myself out of my reverie and turned back to Jason.

"I'm going first," I stated firmly. Jason's head jerked around to look at me, surprised. Immediately his eyes narrowed; he knew that I wouldn't say something like this without a reason.

"Kristy..." he began, but I quickly cut him off.

"I'm going first."

I stared determinedly into his sapphire eyes, truly refusing to back down for the first time that I could remember. Jason was my older brother; he had raised me and taken care of me for almost as long as I could remember, and for that I loved and respected him. But I _needed_ to do this. For myself, if nothing else.

Some way or another, Jason seemed to sense this. He sighed and dropped his gaze, suddenly appearing to be many years older.

"Be careful," he murmured, looking at me once more.

Instantly, I grinned widely. Around me my friends and teammates gave me sentiments of good luck. I, however, just continued to look at my brother. Swiftly, I moved forward and grasped him in a hug and, though he towered over me, he immediately reciprocated.

"_Please_ be careful," he murmured quietly. "Don't take any unnecessary risks."

I laughed into Jason's chest. "Alright, alright," I relied with a wide grin as I pulled away. Jason ruffled my hair lightly--what was it with people and my hair lately? Did I _look_ like I was five?!--and then pushed my lightly in the direction of the center of the arena. I sent a two fingered wave at my team as I left and looked at them over my shoulder.

"I'll see you all after you win your matches!" I called cheekily, before facing the arena once more.

Upon seeing me start to walk forward, Rhurac ginned. It was a wide, toothy grin that overall looked pretty damn creepy. Quickly, he strode forward and met me in the center of the arena.

As we stood before each other in the arena, the crowd around us cheering loudly, Rhurac leered down at me from his height of over seven feet--he was nearly twice as tall as me, damn it! Okay, maybe that was slightly exaggerated, but I still only just came up to his elbow! He looked just as I remember from when I first met him, with his golden-green skin, black eyes, long lime-green colored hair, sharp nails--and teeth for that matter--and the single horn protruding from his forehead.

"This is going to be fun," he practically purred out.

I simply grinned confidently up at him, not dignifying his comment with a reply, despite the fact that I'd been thinking the exact same thing just a minute before. My stomach was actually doing flips with nervousness right then, but I refused to acknowledge it. Memories of my battle with Ty flooded through my mind in that moment, and I found myself standing even straighter; if nothing else, at least I had my psychic abilities to fall back on if I needed to, though they wouldn't surprise Rhurac quite like they did Ty.

Abruptly, a voice boomed through the air, sharply brining me out of my thoughts. "Shihajimeru!"

Swiftly, I leapt away from Rhurac, pulling my katana from its sheath. Unlike in my last fight, I wasted no time in channeling my youki into it, lighting it on fire instantly. At the same time, Rhurac pulled a pair of twin daggers from somewhere on his person. They seemed to be simple blades, though they somehow glinted ominously in the midmorning light.

I hesitated for a moment and then slowly pulled out my second katana. I hadn't used it yet, even during my fight with Ty, because using two at the same time was more difficult than one would think, and it lowered my concentration. Now that Rhurac had two daggers though...Well, that could potentially be even more deadly than Ty's claws.

Moving swiftly, the two of us attacked each other and I instantly realized that I was going to have to be very cautious with this fight. At first I had thought that it might not be too difficult--me having two _flaming_ katana and him just two simple daggers--but despite the size of Rhurac's daggers, her was incredibly quick with them, easily flashing here and there. He reminded me of a viper, quite honestly.

I found before long that I was going mainly on the defensive. Rhurac too noticed and thus grinned widely, showing off rows of pointed teeth.

"Little puppy-dog can't keep up?" he cooed, cackling loudly. I snarled at him, infuriated by his nicknames, and then proceeded to push myself even harder.

Rhurac, however, just continued to cackle. Suddenly though, he brought one dagger up, twirled it around for a second, and I could feel him pumping some youki into it. At the same time the dagger suddenly glowed green and Rhurac abruptly brought it downward, catching me across the arm with it before I could move away.

I hissed in pain as my arm muscles immediately spasmed, nearly causing me to drop my katana. I managed to hold onto it though, if only from sheer force of will.

Snarling once more, I backed up a couple of steps, different ideas on how to win this battle running through my head. I needed to over-power him, I realized. I needed to hit him hard and fast so that he wouldn't be able to get back up. But how to do that...how to do that...


	34. Chapter 33: Innocence Lost

A/N: ...I had so much fun writing the end of this chapter (**grins**) You'll see why. ...Well, I don't have much else to say right now, so read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - In Japanese Ookmai no Mai means "Dance of the Wolves.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 33  
_Innocence Lost_

* * *

Almost instantly, an idea popped into my mind. Perfect, I thought; just the thing to overpower Rhurac. Moving determinedly, I sheathed both of my katana. Rhurac hesitated then, unsure as to what I was doing. I could almost see Jason and my friends gaping behind me, wondering what the heck I was doing. I, however, simply smirked. It's amazing how even a simple action can completely throw everyone off balance.

Speaking quietly but clearly I murmured, "Boom."

Instantly, two large, beach ball size fireballs formed in the palms for my outstretched hands and flew at Rhurac. This brought back memories, I thought as I watched Rhurac's eye widen. It was almost just like the time when I'd first found out about youkai.

Suddenly however, Rhurac dove out of the way, only just avoiding the speeding balls of fire. Okay, so maybe it wasn't _quite_ like that first time, but close enough at least. Moving quickly, I shot out some more--though a bit smaller--fireballs in quick succession. I knew that Rhurac would manage to dodge them all again, but I needed them as a distraction. I then surrounded my hands with glowing fire. I smiled at the way that it tickled across my skin without doing any harm, and proceeded to attack Rhurac.

From there I sunk into hand to hand combat with Rhurac. He still was armed with his two daggers, granted, but he couldn't really use them as he was two busy attempting to dodge my flames. Before long he'd gathered a nice collection of small burns. My personal favorite was the nasty looking one across the side of his face where I'd managed to sock him in the jaw.

After just a couple of minutes of this however, Rhurac managed to get about ten or so feet distance between us. We circled slowly around each other from that distance, both on guard. My arm was still bleeding from where Rhurac had cut me earlier, I noticed, but fortunately the wound was pretty shallow and so posed no danger to me. I was sure that it'd start to heal momentarily; increased youkai healing and all that.

Finally I decided to take action once again. I abruptly lashed out with one hand, pumping youki down through my fingers. Almost instantly vine-like tendrils of fire shot out of each of my fingers. They shot toward Rhurac and, through he tired to avoid them, wrapped around him. The youkai let out a scream then, one that reverberated through the stadium as smoke started to pour off his skin as the fire burned him.

I attempted to tighten the vines further, to possibly get him to forfeit, but only just managed to tighten it slightly when I had to drop the technique and let the fire dissipate. I couldn't quite manage to completely control the attack yet, or hold it for very long; I hadn't practiced with it much. And that lack of control also meant that it took a whole _hell_ of a lot more youki to perform than it would otherwise.

Rhurac stood across from me, panting as he snarled furiously. Numerous blackened burns laced his body from my last attack. Staring into Rhurac's glaring eyes, I felt myself blanching. Crap; instead of ending the match liked I'd hoped, my last attack had only enraged Rhurac. And if there was one thing I knew for sure, it was that a youkai that was this pissed off was a bad thing; rage tended to make us a whole hell of a lot more violent and unpredictable than usual.

Simultaneously, Rhurac and I leapt forward. He now was releasing quite a bit of youki in his anger, causing him to be surrounded by a green glow. He didn't seem to notice it, however, as he simply slashed at me, completely focused on killing me now. Meanwhile, I called up my youki so that my arms were once again wreathed in flames. I proceeded to attempt to attack Rhurac, but quickly found myself on the defensive once again. I could swear that he was moving twice as fast as before! It didn't exactly help that I couldn't touch him either, since the youki aura around him would hurt me when I even just got close.

I found myself swearing under my breath. Shit, this was bad! Rhurac was probably just as powerful as Ty had been, and now he was pissed off, no longer just playing around anymore. I attempted to pull out my katana once more as I carefully--and not the least bit desperately--avoided Rhurac's attacks, but found that the green-skinned youkai wouldn't give me enough space to do so.

Seeing the great turn of battle, I started viewing my other options. I was starting to think that I'd just have to use my psychic abilities like I had last time, but was hesitant to do so. If I attempted to establish a connection, then my attention would be split and most likely that would give Rhurac the opening he needed to kill me. No, I wasn't going to risk that just yet.

At that moment I got just a bit to close too Rhurac. Instantly, I felt a harsh stinging all the way up my arm and so quickly jumped away, before backpedaling a few more steps.

'_Shit, shit, shit!_' I thought desperately. '_I really need to end this fight! I'm not sure how much more of this I can take! Not to mention that I'm really starting to tire...We must have been at this for at least 15 minutes already!_'

As if responding to my desperation just like it had done in my last fight, my fire flared up once more. This time, however, it was the fire on my arms. And it didn't stop there, but rather kept on building up. After only a few seconds the fire had built up to nearly a foot in height all around my hands. For a moment, I really was grateful that the gloves and clothes I was wearing were fireproof; my skin and hair may be impervious to fire, but my clothes weren't. If they hadn't been specially fireproofed...Well, needless to say it would have led to some pretty awkward situations.

However, to my surprise, my fire didn't stop there. Instead, almost as if it had a mind of its own, the fire started to mold itself into the resemblance of a snarling maw. It almost reminded me of my Ookami no Mai**(1) **technique, except much large and only a single wolf. The fire wolf leapt off my arm, flames trailing along behind it, and attacked Rhurac.

Of course, Rhurac immediately attempted to bat it away. Considering as it was made of energy however, that was impossible and instead the fir wolf just proceeded to circle around the youkai. Seeing that Rhurac's attention had now been almost completely pulled from me, I quickly leapt at Rhurac, an idea forming in my mind. I grabbed a hold of one of his wrists with both of my hands as soon as I came near, and though he tried to shake me off he couldn't put too much effort into it since the fire wolf was dangerous and starting to attack him in earnest.

Quickly, while Rhurac's attention was still divided since I didn't know how long the fire wolf would last for, I pumped out as much youki as I could, sending flames to engulf my opponent. At the same time I could feel extreme pain in my hands from Rhurac's youki. As much as I desperately wanted to scream and leap back at that moment, I forced myself to hold on. I stayed like that for several seconds, pushing out as much youki as I could while Rhurac attempted to pull out of my grasp. Every muscle in my body spasmed as every instinct I had told me to let go of Rhurac and end the burning pain.

It was then, however, that the worst part came: Rhurac started screaming. It was a loud, deep, howl of pain that was truly horrible to hear. By now the flames had covered all of Rhurac's skin and the fire wolf had disappeared. Rhurac started clawing at me desperately and, staring wide-eyed up at him, I finally let go of his wrist and fell back on my ass.

By now Rhurac was like a human torch. Or, rather, like a youkai torch. He continued to scream, even as the flames fully engulfed him. For my part, I pushed myself onto my hands and knees and began dry retching as the smell of burning flesh reached my sensitive nose. Still hearing the screams, I clamped my eyes shut, desperately trying to block everything out.

I don't know how long I was like that, on my hands and knees, when the screaming suddenly died out. Hesitantly, I rolled over so that I was sitting down and then opened my eyes. Rhurac, I found, was no where in sight. Instead, all that was left was a patch of darkened ground.

I continued to sit there like that, staring at the ground, for Kami knows how long. All that I remember was a couple of hands on my arms, pulling me to my feet. Not really noticed what I was doing, I allowed them to do so, stilling staring blankly ahead. I would later realize that I'd gone into shock, but at the time I couldn't really think at all.

Slowly the healers walked across the stadium, and into the infirmary. I didn't really notice any of it though; the last few minutes of the battle were still running through my mind. The healers sat me down and immediately focused on my hands. Carefully, they peeled off my gloves, eventually revealing my blackened palms. Even in my shocked state, I had to wince at the sight of the badly burned skin.

The healers spent the next five or so minutes focusing entirely on trying to heal my hands. Slowly but surely they did so, eventually leaving behind new, pink skin.

Suddenly, the door to the infirmary opened once more and Chris came in. Spotting me he walked over, and I could tell from the large grin on his face that he'd won his match. As the healers flitted around us, he sat next to me on the bench that I was on.

At first neither of us said anything, both of us growing solemn. Finally, however, Chris spoke, still staring at the wall before us.

"It's difficult, isn't it?" he began quietly. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes, before sliding them back to focus on the wall again as he continued. "To remember their faces. To know that they're dead. To know that you're the reason why they're dead." Chris sighed. "But...you get over it, you know. And it's not just because we're youkai. Genetics only make up half a person--the rest is all to do with experience and how you were raised, and we were raised in the Ningenkai where killing is generally considered a horrible thing. No, you just have to remember that these are our opponents and that they would have killed us without an ounce of remorse given half a change. Here, in the Makai, everything is do or die."

Chris paused again as he and I continued to stare at the blank wall before us. After another minute, he suddenly began to chuckle. It was a dry, humorless laugh. "My father tried to prepare me for this you know, when I told him about the tournament," Chris said conversationally. "He knew that I was going to have to kill eventually. But it's completely different when you actually feel it. When you _know_..." I nodded mutely beside him and the two of us slipped into a comfortable, understanding silence.

I would always remember this day, I knew. The day I first killed. The day that I grew up and came to truly understand my parentage. The day my innocence was lost.

Suddenly, however, once of the healers cried out in alarm. My head snapped around to the youkai who was currently standing next to me, holding my arm.

"This cut!" she cried out, pointing to the shallow gash that I'd received from Rhurac's dagger earlier on in the fight. "It's poisoned!"

I felt myself freeze up, and then quickly began cursing in my mind. Of course! I remembered that day so many months ago when I'd first met Rhurac and how he'd hit me with a blast of his green youki that had poisoned me. And just before he'd cut me today, he'd put some youki into his dagger!

Immediately, Chris leaned over. "Then get the poison out!' he exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice.

"I can't, I can't!" the healer--whom I just noticed had a petite face and purple hair and eyes--moaned, shaking her head back and forth franticly. "It's been in your system for too long now. It's already traveling up your arm and to your heart!"

I sat there in shock for several seconds. No! This couldn't be happening! I'd come so for--I'd won all of my matches! I couldn't die now! He healer meanwhile appeared to be having some kind of a panic attack. She was pale and clammy, rocking back and forth on her feet and mumbling "no, no, no" over and over again.

"Lord Bashere is going to _kill_ me," she unwittingly mumbled in her terror.

Almost instantly I realized the cause of her terrified actions. Bashere would want to fight me or Jason himself. He'd probably be pretty pissed off if he found out that I'd died after winning my match due to a _paper cut_, even if it did get me out of the way. Hell, I'd completely have to agree that that's got to be the most embarrassing thing to have on my grave.

Abruptly, as everyone was panicking around me, an idea came into my mind in the form of a memory from quite a while ago...

**_--Flashback--_**

"_Miss Walker!" the teacher snaps suddenly, smacking my desk with her ruler. "Pay attention!" With that she turns around, stalks back towards the chalkboard, and continues her speech about ancient battles._

_I glare at her back as she walks. I can positively say that I hate Mrs. Schubert. She's my history teacher and a cranky old lady._

_I continue to glare at her as she speaks. So what if my mind had been wandering! I was thinking about Yusuke and the others. Besides, when in my life am I ever going to need to know the fact that General Yamagata was able to stop a snake bite from killing him by putting ice on it? And why did he even get the idea to put ice on it in the first place?_

_**--End Flashback--**_

That was it! Ice!

"Could you remove the poison if it stopped moving?" I quickly asked.

The healer stared at me for a moment with wide eyes, not quite understanding what I was asking. "W-what?"

"If the poison stopped moving," I repeated carefully, "Would you be able to remove it from my arm?"

The healer continued to stare. "Well, yes, I suppose, but how would you--"

Having heard all that I needed to hear, I quickly turned to Chris. "Freeze my arm," I quickly demanded. "Encase it in ice." Both Chris and the healer breathed in sharply and began to protest. My eyes slid back to the healer. "It'll stop the blood flow in my arm, right?"

The healer hesitated. "Yes," she replied, "But then we'll only have a very short window of time to remove the poison and unfreeze your arm or you'll lose your entire arm!"

"But the poison will be gone, correct?"

The healer hesitated again then, but finally nodded in reply to me. In that moment I made a split-second decision. When it came down to either losing an arm or losing my life, my life definitely took a bit of precedence.

"Chris--" I started, turning back to face my friend.

"Kristy," he immediately protested. However, I just looked at him, staring into his eyes.

"Chris," I repeated firmly. We continued to stare at each other for a moment before he finally sighed.

"Fine," he murmured. Then, without another word, he leaned over, placed his hands on my arm, and began to channel some youki.


	35. Chapter 34: Strange Encounters

A/N: Erm, sorry about the long wait again people (**sweatdrops**) I actually have a reason for it this time though! I've been in New York (**grins**) And had one hell of a time. Anyways, to make up for it, this chapter is extra long...Granted, it'd be this long even if I _hadn't_ taken a while to update, but that's beside the point!

One major part that I like about this chapter is the end scene. You get to see Bashere having one of his "episodes" (**grins again**) You'll see what I mean. Oh, and if it's a bit confusing, don't worry--it's not supposed to make sense. Well, read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 34  
_Strange Encounters_

* * *

Starting from where Chris' hands were, ice started to form on my arm. However, just as quickly as it formed, it began to melt. I stared in confusion for a second, before abruptly feeling like hitting myself over the head. Of course! I was part fire youkai! Quickly, I reigned in my youkai, pulling it all away from my arm and holding it back. Finally, the ice started to really form.

The ice spread slowly at first, then more quickly until it had covered my entire arm. I gritted my teeth tightly, feeling the sharp cold biting into my bare skin. It was painful certainly; the extreme cold soon caused my arm to feel constricted, and then numb.

Finally, when the ice was about an inch or so thick all around my arm, Chris stopped and slowly took his hands off my arm. The healer moved closer then and placed her own hand over the gash, which was the only place without ice over it, for easy access.

The healer's hands then began to glow a pale green as she brought her youki to the surface. Gently she let her hands hover an inch above the cut, and began to use her youki to pull out the poison residing in my currently frozen blood stream.

Later on, I would definitely be glad that my arm was frozen and numb at the time; having something forcibly pulled through your veins--backwards, I might add--has _got_ to hurt.

The whole process of removing all the poison took about thirty seconds. When the healer was done, she lifted her hand away from the wound, revealing a floating gob of dark green poison. She directed it away from me and then destroyed it.

"That should be all of it," the healer said with a small smile. Almost instantly I let my youki back into my arm, causing the ice to quickly met from the suddenly blast of extreme heat. As soon as all the ice was gone, I carefully raised my arm and flexed my fingers. Though still a bit numb, everything seemed to be working fine; it appeared that there were no lasting effects from the ice, thank Kami.

Despite this however, the healers still swarmed around me once more and began to make sure that my arm was indeed fine. Creepy little buggers.

A few minutes later the door opened once more, this time to admit Jessica. Upon seeing Chris and I, she immediately rushed over.

"Are you both alright?" she quickly asked. "Kristy..." She hesitated, looking sad and sympathetic. "Are you...okay?"

I gave my best friend a small smile. "I'll be fine, Jessie, really." Chris nodded along with me.

Jessica hesitated once more, but then nodded quietly before joining the two of us on the bench. We all sat in silence for a minute or two, each lost in our own thoughts, before I finally spoke up once more.

"Well?" I began, turning to look at Jessica. "How'd it go?"

Jessica stared blankly at me. "How'd what go?"

"The match!" I exclaimed, waving my arms around widely.

Jessica's eyes widened. "Oh! Right!" I--and Chris, I noticed--grinned at her reaction, but waited patiently for the half angel's reply.

"Well, um," she began hesitantly, coloring deeply. "I...tied."

I blinked and then grinned once more. "That's great, Jess!" I exclaimed. Chris nodded enthusiastically along side me, smiling as well.

"Yeah," the ice demon said. "After all, we're in the semi-finals!"

Jessica brightened under our encouragement and then beamed at us. "Yes," she commented. "Our team is doing so well!"

The three of us laughed and proceeded to joke around, enjoying the relaxed mood that had settled over us. I found myself smiling quite easily, my earlier tension forgotten. This was just like how it used to be when it was just the three of us before everything had started.

Before my entire world had changed within the blink of an eye.

* * *

From there, time seemed to pass quite quickly. Before I knew it, an unconscious Jin was brought in, his body bringing the news of his defeat. He woke up just a few minutes later though, not very hurt at all. We only had to wait until about ten minutes after that for Jason, closely followed by Touya, to enter as well.

"Well, that's that," Jason said with a wide grin. "We beat those suckers 3 to 1!" We all laughed along with him, not at all surprised that Jason had just won his own match--or at least I assumed that it was him who'd just fought, considering as he was the one covered in grime while Touya was untouched.

The round had been, surprisingly, easier than I'd expected, particularly considering as it'd been the semifinals, but then again, I had gotten rid of Rhurac first off, and doubtless the rest of the team had been completely lost without him. We probably got off pretty easy.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Rhurac's team was being led through the large metal door. I couldn't help but wonder whether or not they'd share the same fate as everyone else since, technically, they were Bashere's team. Somehow, I couldn't see Bashere being merciful, not even to them.

Purposefully, I looked away from the solemn procession, putting them out of my mind. I couldn't pity them--not here, not now.

Jason was grinning widely, but that smile fell as his eyes landed on me. Keeping his eyes locked onto my own, he spoke to the group at large.

"Come on guys, let's get headed back to the hotel--we need to rest up and then start to prepare for the finals, which as we all know will be held in three days." Everyone muttered their agreements and, still in good cheer, began to make their way out of the infirmary--with the consent of the healers of course.

Meanwhile, Jason sidled up next to me. "Walk with me," he murmured.

We hung back about ten to fifteen feet behind the rest of our team as we all began to walk down the long, empty corridor leading out of the stadium. Respectfully, our team didn't say anything, and instead just continued on ahead.

Jason and I walked side by side in silence for a minute. Finally, however, my older brother spoke up, breaking the tense silence that had settled on our shoulders.

"Will...will you be okay?" he began, obviously not quite sure how to word his sentence.

I shrugged. "Probably," I replied honestly. "I'm a youkai after all; killing is in my blood. My youkai instincts and ningen moral are just at war with each other right now."

Jason chuckled lowly. "You're good at hiding it then."

I smiled tightly up at him. "Well, I can't exactly let all the youkai out there know. They'd all jump me immediately if they realized just how fucking terrified I am right now."

"Language," Jason admonished, playfully hitting me over the head. I childishly stuck my tongue out at him, though privately I was glad for the momentary distraction from my grim thoughts.

At the moment, I truly was terrified and confused, despite my outward relaxed appearance. All of my ningen moral and memories were telling me that killing was a bad thing and that I was now a bad person for having killed someone. And it wasn't as if Rhurac wasn't _really_ a bad person either; he'd never even really done anything to me or my friends besides threatening us. He'd simply believed wholeheartedly in Bashere, and ended up dying for his beliefs.

At the same time, however, my youkai instincts were screaming at me that killing was fine. It was just something that you had to do to survive. If I hadn't done what I'd done, then I'd probably be the one who was dead now. Besides, Rhurac _had_ threatened us, and such threats had to be taken care of.

It would take a little while longer, but eventually I would come to a conclusion. I would kill, yes,--that was unavoidable--but only when I really had to. Otherwise, I would try to spare people as often as I could.

* * *

A couple of hours later I was in the training fields once more. The rest of my team was there as well. Somewhere. We were all spread out and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the other were a mile away or something.

Currently, I was training with both of my katana, mixing in fire and shadow attacks every now and then. It was just as I was finishing up with one of those fire attacks that I felt the appearance of a presence which I'd been carefully alert for since yesterday. Calmly, I lowered my katana and turned around to face my new visitor.

"Can I help you?" I asked Hiei as he stood on the other side of the small clearing. "Or do you just enjoy stalking me?"

Immediately, Hiei's eyes narrowed and a growl surfaced in his throat. "I'm not stalking you," he snapped.

I simply smirked at him. "Of _course_ not," I replied in a fake sweet voice. "Now, how _can_ I help you?"

Hiei didn't reply, however, and instead proceeded to stare at me, studying me. I met him stare for stare quite easily, considering as I was just about as tall as him. Finally, a couple of minutes into our impromptu staring contest, Hiei spoke once more.

"You killed for the first time today, didn't you?"

Instantly, I blinked, a surprised expression taking over my face. How the heck could he have known that I'd never killed before?! Well, technically I had, back when I'd first discovered that I was a youkai, but, all things considered, that didn't really count.

As if sensing my question, Hiei continued. "It's in your eyes," he said. He fell silent for another minute then, before opening his mouth once more. "You're an enigma, you know. You're a powerful youkai--you'd have to be to make it to the final--but you've never even killed before. You've got some damn powerful lineage apparently, but you act more like some sort of a ningen child."

I bristled at what I perceived to be an insult, but before I could say even one word in reply, Hiei's head abruptly jerked around, as if hearing something. He stared off into space for a moment, before his eyes suddenly snapped back to me. He nodded coolly then, before disappearing back into the shadows of the forest.

Not even a second after Hiei had left--before I could even fully process what had happened--a figure tumbled out from behind a nearby tree. Instantly, I tensed up, but quickly relaxed again when I saw that it was just Kiara.

"Kami," Kiara grumbled as she stood back up. "I could have sworn that Hiei was going to sense me."

I chuckled in reply. "Hey, Kiara," I greeted as I strode over to her.

The twelve year old looked up and smiled at me. "Congrats on getting to the finals!"

I grinned as well. "Thanks! I'm guessing that you and the others made it as well...?"

Kiara nodded, her smile falling. "Yes..." she began, and then hesitated, "...You realize what this means, right?"

My face became solemn as well. "Yeah," I replied quietly. "We're going to have to fight each other in the finals."

Kiara hesitated again. "And you know about what happens to the losers...?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I repeated. "I know."

The two of us fell into silence more a minute, lost in our thoughts, before Kiara looked back up at me.

"We're protected by Koenma," she suddenly said, a slightly desperate tone entering her voice. "We won't be killed if we loose. If I can just convince the boys to forfeit...!"

Though I was slightly happy at the fact that my friends wouldn't be killed if the lost, I just shook my head mutely. "No Kiara," I replied firmly with a sigh. "I could never do that to them. And besides, it'd be better not to tell them..."

"But if we just explained everything to Koenma--"

"No!" I cut in sharply. Kiara looked at me in surprise at my outburst then, so I sighed once more and then continued in a softer tone. "No. We can't. No matter that Jason--my older brother--and I were born in the Ningenkai, we're still technically residing there illegally. If Koenma were to find out about us, then he'd have no choice but to arrest us and take us back to the Makai."

As I finished with my explanation, I could see the pleading in Kiara's face vanish. Looking resigned, she nodded slightly.

"Alright," she murmured. "I understand."

I smiled lightly at the young girl before me. "Thanks Kiara. My team and I will just have to win this tournament the old fashioned way: by beating all of your asses!"

Our amused laughter filled the afternoon air, covering up the anxiety that filled both our eyes.

* * *

(**Meanwhile, Back at the Hotel**) (**No One's POV**)

A frown plastered across his face, Hiei strode into the hotel suite that he had to share with the rest of the Reikai Tentai. Well, at least he only had to share a room with Kurama. Speaking of which...

Seeing Kurama sitting in on of the large chairs that adorned the room, Hiei quickly headed over to him.

"I received your call, fox," Hiei growled out. "What do you want?"

Wordlessly--and with a surprisingly serious look on his face--Kurama gestured to the large screen that adorned one wall. Yusuke and Kuwabara were in the room as well, Hiei noticed, and they too had their attention on the screen which now showed Koenma.

"Where's Kiara?" Koenma asked after a moment.

Yusuke shrugged. "Dunno. The twerp wandered off somewhere after we got back. I can go find her...?"

Koenma just waved him off. "No, no," he said. "You can just tell her everything later; I want to get started now."

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, binky breath! Now what the hell _did_ you call us here for?"

Ignoring the boy's tone, Koenma plowed onward. "First of all," he said, "Congratulations on making the finals. You have only one more match and then you'll get to contend for the title of Battle Lord of Makai--"

"Which reminds me!" Yusuke suddenly broke in angrily. "Why the hell didn't you tell us about that whole Battle Lord thing?! Not that I mind--I'll win of course--but still!"

Koenma sighed and then waved the question off. "I just didn't think it was important. But there are more important things now anyway; it won't matter if you don't even make it through the finals."

Immediately, Yusuke began to splutter. "Didn't think it was...?! ...Wait, whaddaya mean not make it through?!"

Though the Spirit Detective's face was already turning a deep shade of red, Koenma just continued on, used to the teen's temper. "I'm really worried about this other team, Team Kagekaze," the young prince stated with a frown. This immediately caught everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked as he sat up straighter in his seat. "Have you found something?"

"That just the thing, I've found nothing--literally," Koenma replied with a sigh. "Let me explain from the beginning. First of all, as you know two of the people on the team are Touya and Jin, whom you met at the Dark Tournament."

"We know," Kuwabara interjected. "We talked to them just the other day."

"Yes, well, those two aren't much of a problem since we already know all about them," Koenma continued. "It's the other four that both me. For example, there's this girl--" On the screen, next to Koenma's face, a picture popped up, showing a teenage girl with green hair and a pair of large angel wings. "She, as you can tell, is part angel. What percentage we can't tell, but we suspect half, which would mean that she's also either half human or half demon. The question, however, is how she got here. Angels are almost _never_ found in the Makai. For her to just appear here amongst a team of full-blooded youkai..." Koenma sighed and then a second picture came up, replacing the first. This one detailed a male ice youkai.

"This," he continued, "Is the second ice youkai on the team. Unlike with Touya, I've been able to find _nothing_ about where he came from. I've already checked with all the ice tribes, and everyone is accounted for. He's proved to be quite powerful despite his anonymity though, showing skilled control of his ice that even rival's Touya's. However, despite all of this it's the last two that really worry me."

Again the screen changed, though this time two youkai came up on it. The first was a tall male youkai with silver hair and the second was a short, small youkai with a pair of wolf ears and tail. Both of them looked fairly young--though the male older than the female--though of course with youkai it usually tended to all be relative.

"This," Koenma said, gesturing toward the male, "Is the captain of the team. He--and the girl, for that matter--has won all of his matches and has proved to be quite powerful. The thing is though..." Koenma pursed his lips. "He's half wind youkai and half darkness youkai. Youkai with multiple elements are incredibly rare--half because of tradition, half because of genetics--and we've been able to find _no_ trace or records of him anywhere!"

Yusuke snorted and rolled his eyes. "So the guy's hard to find--big deal!"

"You don't understand!" Koenma cried, waving his arms around. "Someone with that kind of power and heritage doesn't just slip through the cracks like that! It's impossible! We'd be able to find _some_ kind of trace of him _somewhere_! But we can't; it's like he just appeared out of thin air!"

"What about the girl?" Hiei suddenly asked. His voice was a soft growl as he stared up at the screen with narrowed eyes. The girl had been strange enough to catch his attention--a difficult feat to be sure--and now all of this only made her even more of a puzzle. No trace of any of them? Hiei knew what Koenma meant when he'd said that that should be impossible.

"Well," Koenma began uncertainly, "I'd have to say that she's the one who disturbs me the most. Having an unknown youkai with two elements is bad enough but..." Koenma hesitated and then took a deep breath. "We've managed to find out that she had four different types of blood."

Instantly, Kurama breathed in sharply and Hiei's eyes narrowed. "What?!" Kurama asked in a strangled voice. "That _can't_ be possible!"

"That's what we'd thought too. Certainly it's never happened before. There was a rumor once, a long time ago, about a youkai with three types of blood, but that was never confirmed. Still, four types..." Koenma trailed off, shaking his head in wonder as if he still couldn't quite believe himself yet. "Well," he continued after a moment, "We've managed to find out so far that she's 1/4 ookami youkai, 1/4 fire youkai, 1/4 darkness youkai, and 1/4 of something else--we haven't been able to find out what yet. We've also heard some rumors that she and the male youkai--" He gestured to the one with silver hair just like the female's. "--Are in fact siblings, but we haven't been able to find out anything definite yet."

Koenma paused and let out a sigh. "Well, the point of all this is that you need to be careful. We know next to nothing about anyone on the team beside Jin and Touya. For all we know, they could have been holding back this whole time and are actually lot stronger than we'd thought. All of you are going to have to be particularly careful with them. Besides you and Bashere, they're some of the most powerful youkai in the Makai right now."

* * *

(**Location Unknown, the Makai**) (**No One's POV**)

A throne-like chair sat in the middle of a dark room. The shadows that blanketed the room stretched across the chair, hiding any details that it--or the room itself--might hold.

Abruptly, a large pair of double doors opened up on the wall opposite the chair, allowing a thick shaft of light to pierce the room. An armored youkai stepped in while bowing deeply, his eyes glued to the floor.

"My Lord," he murmured, still not looking up, "We have brought her, just as you requested."

Silence permeated the room for a moment, when suddenly something shifted on the throne-like chair. "Bring her in," a deep baritone voice commanded.

The youkai guard back out of the room, still in a deep bow. There was some scuffling outside, and then the guard returned with a second guard, leading a youkai in between them. They stopped before the throne, left the youkai, and then quickly retreated out of the room, closing the doors behind them.

Instantly, the female youkai who'd been brought in dropped onto her hands and knees and pressed her forehead into the ground in a deep bow. She stayed prostrated like that for several minutes while her Lord, Bashere, studied her from his seat.

"Rise," Bashere finally said when he was satisfied. Instantly, the youkai shakily brought her head up and then stood up, revealing purple hair and eyes. She was draped in the deep blue robes of a healer.

"I have heard some things..." Bashere continued after a moment's pause. His coal black eyes pierced through the darkness of the room as he stared at the small healer before him. "Such as Kristy's near death earlier today."

The healer breathed in sharply as her eyes widened. "M-my Lord!" she stuttered out. There was a pleading note in her voice. "She was simply poisoned from her battle! We managed to remove the poison before it could do any damage--"

"But let it get far enough to be a danger!" By now Bashere was leaning forward in his seat and snarling angrily. The healer cowed back and whimpered, terror clear in her eyes. "In fact, the only reason why Kristy's even alive right now is because of herself--" Bashere trailed off abruptly, his eyes becoming unfocused. "But then, she's always been resourceful...It was one of the things that she was known for..."

Suddenly, Bashere's eyes came back in focus and his attention snapped back to the healer. "But you!" he snarled, leaping up from his seat. His eyes were filled with a strange rage. "You tried to kill her didn't you?!"

As Bashere advanced on her, the healer took a few stumbling steps backward. Her eyes were wide and easily showed her fear and confusion. With lightning face movements however, Bashere reached out grabbed her by a fistful of her hair, pulling her close to him.

"You're just another person trying to take away from fiancé, aren't you?!" he spat out furiously.

"M-my Lord!" the healer youkai gasped out as her mind cast around for something--anything!--to save herself with. "It was Rhurac who knowingly poisoned her!"

Instantly, Bashere's eyes became unfocused once more. His head fell away from the healer and he turned away, as if completely forgetting about her existence.

"Yes, yes," he murmured to himself as he took a few steps away. "Rhurac."

Meanwhile, the healer fell back onto the ground. Sobbing, she crawled backwards until she hit a wall. There she lay, curled up into herself and radiating fear.

"Rhurac..." Bashere repeated. "He hasn't been responding to my summons--I'll have to punish him...No, wait, he's dead already. Kristy killed him. But then my dear Shantel isn't in the Makai right now, so she couldn't have killed him--DAMMIT!" Bashere abruptly exploded, cutting himself off from his rambling. "Rhurac was supposed to kill Kristy during his match to get rid of her! Why the hell didn't he?! ...Ah, but this means that she's still alive. I'll get to see her again and fight her myself. Good, good, because the wedding starts in just a few days. I hope they'll have kicked Rei out by then..."

Bashere broke of into slightly deranged laughter then, the sound mixing strangely with the sobs that were already echoing through the room.


	36. Chapter 35: Feathers and Roses

A/N: Gak! Sorry about taking another month or so to update (**sweatdrops**) For one I was still caught up in the other story I mentioned, and I was also having a bit of writer's block over a few battles. That's all gone though now and I should be able to update every week now again.

One thing I want to mention before I continue is that this story _**WILL HAVE A SEQUEL**_. That sequel will be titled "Under a Bloody Moon" and will be a Naruto crossover. If you don't know anything about Naruto, don't worry! I will explain everything as Kristy won't know about it either and you don't really have to know about the Naruto storyline either, as it will take place quite a few years before the Naruto storyline starts.

One of the main reason why I'm saying this now is because we're quite close to the end of OTAL the story will end somewhere around Chapter 40, so there are only about five or so chapters left (**cheers**) I have quite a few twists set up for the ending though (**grins**) Anyways, please read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 35  
_Feathers and Roses_

* * *

(**Kristy's POV**)

The next three days passed quite quickly. My team and I spent damn near the entire time training, preparing for the upcoming fight against the Reikai Tentai. Nothing of any real interest happened, and I did not see Hiei or Kiara again.

Before I knew it, the time we had had passed and it as the morning of the final round. My team and I swept through our morning preparations, all of us--Jessica, Chris and I in particular--trying to steel our nerves against having to fight a possible death match against our friends. I had already told them about my meeting with Kiara and, like me, they were relieved to know that the team wouldn't die if they lost, but it still didn't make the situation any easier.

We left the hotel room and, in the streets, were surprised to find that many youkai were cheering us on. It appeared that our team was a favorite amongst the people, if only because we had no ningen on the team. This surprised me since we had a half angel instead, but I supposed that youkai held even angels in higher esteem than ningen.

The long walk to the waiting room seemed to take even longer than usual. With the heavy thoughts that were weighing on our minds it felt like some kind of a death march.

As soon as we reached the waiting room however, we, along with the Reikai Tentai, were hurriedly rushed outside and into the arena, which was only just beginning to fill up with spectators. We were told to wait out there for the beginning of the finals.

So there we all stood for what must have been at least ten minutes. We were all spread out side by side in a line, facing the spot where Bashere sat, studying us. I could often feel his eyes on me, but just ignored him. To my amusement, both Kuwabara and Yusuke were fidgeting and complaining during the wait, though somehow they managed to stay where they were.

Finally, when the stand of the stadium seemed to be full, the announcer stood up. "Welcome," he boomed out, "To the final round of the Kuro Tournament!" The crowd, which had quieted down when the announcer had started to speak, immediately erupted into loud cheers. The excitement rolling off them was nearly palpable in the air.

Once the crowd had sufficiently quieted down once more, the announcer continued. "Standing before us are the two outstanding teams that have managed to beat down all of their opposition in order to make it to this round: Team Reikai Tentai and Team Kagekaze!" Again the announcer had to wait for the crowd to quiet down before continuing. "In this round these two teams will once again face off in individual battles. The team with the most wins will be declared the Tournament Champions. Then, as per tradition, tomorrow the final battle will be held: Lord Bashere vs. the captain of the Champion team.

"If Bashere wins then he shall keep his place as Battle Lord of Makai. If the captain wins then he shall take up the mantle as the new Lord. If the Champion team's captain is dead, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to fight at the time of the last battle, then another person from the Champion team will fight instead.

"In this round, all of the previous rules still apply. In the individual battles, the first person who is unable to continue to fight, who forfeits, or who dies is the looser. Let us begin!"

Upon hearing his dismissing words, my team and the Reikai Tentai split up, heading to the different sides of the stadium. Once there we all stood quietly, the realization that we really were going to have to fight our friends weighing on our minds.

Not a moment later a figure on the other side of the arena stepped forward and began to make their way to the center of the field. It took me a moment, but I quickly realized that it was Suiichi. Almost instantly, everyone turned to look at Jessica. She, I noticed, was pale and sweaty, and almost looked to be on the verge of a panic attack.

"Jessica..." Chris started hesitantly, lying a hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to do this--"

To my surprise, Jessica quickly turned around, dislodging Chris' hand and leveled a glare at him. Jessica _never_ glared. _Never_.

"I _do_ have to," she replied heatedly. Then she paused to gulp, her eyes drifting back to where Suiichi was. "He's _my_ boyfriend," she continued softly. "I'm not going to let anyone else fight him."

I stared at her, torn. I _hated_ having to see my friend like this. "Jessie--"

"I have to!" Jessica abruptly snapped, spinning around to face me. I quickly reeled back, shocked. Jessica never snaps! Suddenly, however, Jessica sighed, turning back around to look at Suiichi again. "I have to..." Without another word, Jessica stepped forward.

As my friend of Kami knew how many years moved forward, I couldn't help but let my head droop a bit. If _I_ was feeling torn, then I couldn't even begin to imagine how Jessica herself must have been feeling. I could never imagine having to seriously fight a boyfriend, or even a close friend. But...I too was going to have to today. We all were.

Before I knew it, Suiichi and Jessica had met in the middle of the arena and the announcer had yelled his customary "Shihajimeru!"

Immediately, Jessica unfurled her wings and took to the sky, leaping away from Suiichi. The redhead, meanwhile, simply reached back and pulled out a rose that had previously been tucked behind his ear. Holding it, he made a slashing motion with his hand. To my great shock, before my very eyes the rose changed and elongated, transforming into a whip that was barbed with numerous deadly thorns.

Once the whip was completely formed, Suiichi pulled his arm back and then cracked the whip forward, causing it to lash forward through the air. Jessica, who was still somewhat in shock, noticed too late what Suiichi was doing and was caught across her leg before she could move away. Fortunately, the pain woke her up and she managed to quickly get herself high up in the air before the whip could wrap around her leg to pull her down.

Jessica began circling around in the air then, avoiding Suiichi's whip as he attacked her. It was obvious that she was desperately attempting to think of a way to end this fight without harming Suiichi much or getting herself killed.

Finally, something happened to change Jessica's stance toward the battle. Namely that Suiichi managed to wrap his whip around her forearm. Jessica hissed in pain as some blood plummeted down to the ground. Instinctively, Jessica's glowing white reiki rose up to envelope her arm. Instantly the parts of the whip that had been touching the reiki began to disintegrate, unable to handle the pure angelic energy.

It was at that point, as Suiichi retracted his whip, that Jessica realized that she couldn't just stay on the defensive. Not if she wanted the match to end anytime soon. Sighing visibly, Jessica allowed her hands to be surrounded with the soft glow or her reiki.

Moving faster than I'd ever seen her move before, Jessica swooped down. As she approached a suddenly wary Suiichi, she condensed the reiki even further and then shot it out in the form of a thick beam. Suiichi quickly leapt back out of the path of the beam, having seen what it could do and not wanting the same thing to happen to him. He managed to avoid it, though only just barely.

Jessica hesitated once more, but seemed to draw strength from the fact that Suiichi could avoid her attacks and thus might not be harmed. She attacked him again and again then and the battle quickly began to pick up speed.

Suiichi continued to just barely avoid Jessica's attacks, though he was a bit faster than I'd have expected a pretty boy like him to be. At the same time he lashed out with his whip, attacking back. Both of them now had their attention split between attacking and defending.

The two of them fought like that for a couple of minutes. Neither of them really got anywhere with their attacks, but they continued anyway in an attempt to tire their opponent.

Finally, there was a change in the flow of the battle. Suiichi reached back into his hair once more and pulled out something tiny--a seed, I believed though I couldn't be sure. Jessica too paused. She was unsure about whether to allow Suiichi to go through with whatever he was doing, or stop him before he could. By then however, it was too late. Suiichi let out a sudden burst of youki, feeding it into the seed, and then threw it onto the ground beneath Jessica.

As soon as the seed touched the ground it exploded. And I don't mean the fiery death type of explosion, but rather green things flying everywhere, growing and expanding type of explosion. It was as if within a single instant the seed--and I was pretty sure that it _had_ indeed been a seed now--had grown into a plant. There was now a mass of lengthy green vines blanketing the area beneath Jessica.

My angelic friend eyes the vines beneath her warily. They didn't _seem_ to be doing anything, but even I knew that Suiichi doesn't do anything for no reason. He's a planner and a schemer, plain and simple.

Suddenly, on some silent command, the vines bust into motion. They shot upwards, writhing in the air, and attempted to grab a hold of Jessica. She quickly maneuvered away, just slipping out of their grasp, and climbed higher into the air. Unfortunately, the vines followed her up as well. Before long, Jessica was performing numerous acrobatic maneuvers in the air that I'd never known that she could do, twisting and turning to avoid the many vines that were trying to capture her.

It truly was an incredible sight to behold, I thought with a small smile. I'd never seen Jessica looking so graceful. She truly appeared as though she belonged there in the air; as though she'd been born already flying.

Jessica could not avoid the vines forever though--there were just too many of them and not enough space for her to maneuver in. As such, it was only a couple more minutes until Jessica abruptly cried out in alarm. It appeared that one of the vines had managed to latch onto her, holding her still. As soon as she was held in place--despite her efforts to get away again--the other vines were able to grab onto her as well. Wrapped in vines, Jessica was pulled back to the ground.

At the center of the mass, the vine firmly held a struggling Jessica. Her efforts became even more desperate as Suiichi slowly began to approach. Then, suddenly, Jessica froze, and I could tell that her mind had landed on an idea. She quickly gathered some reiki right under her skin and then let it out in a controlled burst. Instantly, the vines surrounding her disintegrated, just as Suiichi's whip had earlier.

Unfortunately, Jessica didn't even have time to move before the rest of the vines surged forward, wrapping around her once more.

Jessica's eyes narrowed. Not even pausing, she proceeded to gather nearly twice as much reiki as she had before. When it was released, it cleared a much wider circle around her.

Having learned her lesson last time however, Jessica didn't stop there. Instead, before the vines could move in, she gathered up a massive amount of reiki to surround her. The result was shocking.

With so much reiki flowing around her, Jessica was literally bathed in power. A white aura had formed around her because of it, giving her a heavenly appearance. Just before she released the reiki however, Jessica froze.

From the sidelines, I stared up at her, confused. Then, abruptly, the answer hit me and I felt myself biting my lip worriedly. Crap, this really wasn't good.

If Jessica released the reiki then the vines would be destroyed and she'd been safe. However, since Suiichi was only about ten feet away, he'd also be hit with the blast and could thus be badly harmed...or killed. At the same time though, if Jessica didn't release the reiki, then not only would she most likely loose the match, but the vines rushing back in could harm her and Kami knew what Suiichi might do since he didn't know who she was.

Jessica only hesitated for a moment. She stared at Suiichi as he stood before her and I could easily see a change in her eyes as she came to her decision. Then, without an ounce of hesitation, she raised her hand into the air, releasing her reiki back into herself as she did so.

"I forfeit."

Her voice rang loudly and clearly through the air. Instantly, everyone froze--even Suiichi and his vines. A dead hush fell over the arena as everyone stared on in shock. They couldn't understand why Jessica had forfeit just as she was about to win.

The announcer was the first one to break the silence. "T-team Reikai wins by default," he stuttered out. At the same time the large screen changed to show that the score was now Team Reikai: 1, Team Kagekaze: 0.

The whole stadium broke out into whispers. Suiichi himself stared at Jessica with narrowed eyes, confusion written clear across his face. Despite the whispers however, Jessica just held her head up high and began to make her way toward the infirmary. She stared straight ahead as she walked. She didn't need to answer to anyone for her actions; her reasons for doing what she did were hers and hers alone.

I couldn't repress the proud smile that came to my face as I watched my friend walk away. It was too bad that we had lost, granted, but Jessica had done what she'd needed to do, and I couldn't fault her at all for it.

Slowly, Suiichi followed behind Jessica, his eyes still latched onto her. His mind was turning, I could tell, attempting to figure out exactly what was going on. I could only hope that we had done a good enough job to throw him off our trail.

Pulling my attention off my two friends, I turned back to look at the rest of the Reikai Tentai. Kuwabara had detached himself from the group, I saw, and was making his way toward the middle of the arena. At the same time, Chris stepped forward.

"I'll take him," he said with a grin. Meeting his gaze, I returned it without a word. "What, no 'good luck'?" he asked with a mock pout.

My grin widened. "You shouldn't need it," I replied simply. Granted, I might be underestimating Kuwabara a bit--he _was_ a part of the Reikai Tentai, I realized--but everything that I knew about him pointed to the idea that he wasn't exactly the greatest fighter. Brawler, maybe, but not fighter.

The ice youkai let out a sigh. "True enough." Then, with a wave to everyone else, he approached the arena.

As Chris and Kuwabara stood before each other, I couldn't stop the grin that slipped onto my face. This really was an amusing sight--Kuwabara was standing there, attempting to look serious, but instead just managing to make himself look constipated. On the other hand, Chris was standing confidently before him, looking like he owned the arena. An amused look was on his face, though he managed to look cool and ready at the same time.

Finally, as the crowd quieted, the announcer spoke up, "Shihajimeru!"

Instantly, Chris formed his ice spear. Across from him, Kuwabara focused, and a sword made of pure reiki formed in his hand. I blinked, surprised. I had known that he must have some sort of skill, but it took a lot of control and energy to form a weapon out of pure, tangible energy.

I started to raise my eyebrows, thinking that perhaps there was more to Kuwabara than I'd originally thought when suddenly Kuwabara raised his sword and charged Chris with a yell. Instantly, all the respect that had been forming for him vanished. What kind of a fighter attacks like that?!

I could see that Chris too was surprised--and not the least bit bewildered by Kuwabara's attack. He easily sidestepped out of the way and then tapped Kuwabara on the back with the shaft of his spear. Though he hadn't put much effort into it at all, the tap caused Kuwabara to stumble forward a few steps. Angry, Kuwabara whipped back around and once again charged Chris, who once again stepped out of the way.

The next minute or so of the fight had me staring blankly at the arena. Kuwabara had simply continued to charge at Chris, not using any tactics or strategy at all. I had to admire his determination, but...

Finally, Chris seemed to grow bored. Kuwabara was breathing hard, but Chris, being a youkai, was absolutely fine. With a sigh, Chris shifted his hold on his spear. He then dashed forward, going on the offensive for the first time, and shoved his spear into the ground in front of Kuwabara's feet before the ningen could move away.

As soon as the spear touched the ground, ice extended out from that point, quickly spreading around and up Kuwabara's legs. After only a moment the orange haired ningen was completely encased in ice up to his waist.

Kuwabara gasped in surprise and then proceeded to struggle vainly against the ice. He even went so far as to hit _himself_ with his sword--a sight that made me sweat drop--but it did him no good. Finally, with a sigh of pity, Chris hefted his spear up and landed a solid hit on Kuwabara's temple, knocking him out instantly. Kuwabara slumped forward from where he stood held in place and his sword fizzled out.

For several seconds after that final blow landed the crowd was speechless. I could tell that they had no idea what to think about that last battle, especially considering as this was the _finals_. After a moment however, they did begin to cheer, though there was little doubt in my mind that it was because Chris, a youkai, had won rather than the human rather than for the battle itself.

"Winner, Team Kagekaze!" the announcer called out. At the same time the scoreboard showed that the score was now 1:1.

Smirking lightly, Chris unfroze the ice around Kuwabara. It quickly receded, leaving the ningen to fall face forward onto the ground. Chris made no move to catch him.

The impact with the ground was enough to jerk Kuwabara into consciousness. He immediately leapt to his feet and began to look around wildly, confusion written clear across his face. Chris was already walking away toward the infirmary however, leaving the approaching healers to take care of Kuwabara.

As soon as the field was cleared once more, I turned my attention back onto the Reikai Tentai, curious as to whom they would be sending up next...

...Only to pale as I saw Kiara step forward.


	37. Chapter 36: Of Fights and More Fights

A/N: Back again! And we finally get to Kristy's fight in this chapter (**grins**) The fight gave me a bit of trouble, but I think that I'm glad with how it turned out. Well, without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 36  
_Of Fights and More Fights_

* * *

Crap, I couldn't help but think as I worriedly bit my lip. Kiara was the one out of all of them whom knew who my team really was. What was she going to do?

With a frown on his face, Jin took a step forward. "I'll fight her," he said, glancing at Jason and I. "You still have fights that you need to take care of."

Jason nodded mutely as he followed Jin's gaze over to where Yusuke and Hiei were standing, waiting for their turns to fight. Then, without another word to us, the read haired wind youkai moved forward into the middle of the arena. Things were really getting serious now that there were only a couple of fights left in the finals and the Reikai Tentai and us were tied.

As Jin and Kiara stood before each other, I could see the serious, contemplative look that was plastered over the hanyou's face. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking, and, honestly, I wasn't sure that I wanted to know. Before my thoughts could go much further though, the announcer called out the start of the match.

Immediately, Jin gathered up some of his wind, preparing to fight, but it was then that Kiara did the unexpected.

"I forfeit."

Instantly, my jaw dropped open in shock. Even Jin looked surprised, and not the least bit relieved. Of all the things that Kiara could have done, this was not one of the things that I'd have expected, even with her earlier talk of the team forfeiting.

Apparently, Yusuke shared similar sentiments. He started waving his arms around wildly and yelling, though I couldn't make out exactly what he was saying from this distance. Kiara, however, didn't even bother to look at him. Her eyes downcast, she began to trudge toward the doors of the infirmary. Jin walked alongside her in a respectful silence, understanding the difficult choice that she had made.

Meanwhile, the crowds had erupted into angry whispers. They couldn't understand what was going on; though the first match had been pretty good, it had ended by forfeit, the second match had been a bit of a dud, and now the third match didn't even involve any fighting! Considering as there'd probably been barely any forfeits in the tournament so far, to have this happen during the finals was probably very annoying, not to mention confusing.

As Kiara and Jin left the field, Yusuke was left fuming and confused. I ignored his reaction--however amusing it may be--in favor of turning toward my brother. I didn't get further than opening my mouth though, when Jason spoke.

"Yusuke is the captain," he said. "I'll take him."

I nodded in reply; that was what I had expected. I turned back to look at the Reikai Tentai and suddenly paled. Only Yusuke and Hiei were left. And if Jason was going to be fighting Yusuke...

...I was going to have to fight Hiei.

It was, of course, at that moment that Hiei began to step forward. I bit back a groan, attempting to shove my worries away, and took a single step forward.

I hesitated then, but only for a moment. Why did I really care so much about fighting Hiei? Once I beat him--and I _would_ beat him--he wouldn't be killed or anything. I would just have to be careful about not hurting him too badly.

Taking a breath and then letting it out, I proceeded forward, my eyes locked on Hiei. It seemed to take hours for me to reach him. Each step that I took seemed to reverberate through the stadium. I could hear my breaths echoing in my mind. I knew this was all really just my mind hyping me up for the fight, but that didn't change the way that I currently perceived things.

Finally, after the eternity that it took to cross the arena, I stopped before Hiei. He was expressionless as usual, but if you looked really closely, you could see the smirk twitching at the corner of his lips and the anticipation glinting in his eyes--I could tell that he was looking forward to this fight. It's kind of funny though; even just a few months ago I wouldn't have noticed those sorts of things.

I was woken sharply from my reverie by the yell of the announcer. Even as "shihajimeru" echoed through the stadium, both Hiei and I shifted into battle stances, our hands gripping our katana. For a moment neither of us moved. We were both waiting for something--what exactly, I wasn't sure.

Finally, in a flurry of movement, we both moved forward. Our blades slid smoothly out from their sheathes and then met with a clang. Quickly, I twirled around, my blade making a screeching sound as it drug against Hiei's, and struck on his other side. Hiei was quick though, and he immediately twisted downwards, deflecting my blade away and thus blocking my attack. Without even pausing, Hiei continued the motion that his katana was already in, bringing it back toward me in a wide sweeping motion.

I didn't have time to block the strike--not at the speed that it was moving. I wouldn't be able to bring my sword up in time. Instead, I moved backwards just in time to see Hiei's katana swipe by, missing my face by mere inches. As a few hairs from my bangs floated slowly to the ground, I momentarily thanked Kami that my hair was still back in a braid and thus out of my way. I stumbled back a couple more steps, re-catching my balance, and then lunged into the fight.

As Hiei and I fought I quickly found that the crimson eyed youkai was fast. Very fast. Faster than anything that I'd ever seen before. Granted, Ty had actually probably been faster, but the neko youkai had been playing around with me when we fought, so I'd never gotten to see his true speed.

I was lucky in that I could just barely keep up with Hiei. He was fast, yes, but I was too and I was able to block almost all of his attacks. A frown on my face, I continued to keep up with him as much as I could.

As we fought, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of us. The sounds of the crowd around us disappeared, as did the harsh morning light. Instead, all I could hear was the clang of steel on steel as our blades met, the shuffle of the dirt beneath our feet as we moved around, and the sound of our deep, quick breaths as we fought. All I could see was the two of us, fighting like we'd never fought before.

Strike. Block. Block lower. Twist to the side. Slash from above. Duck beneath his blade. Slip under his guard. Block to the side. Quickly slice upward.

Sword fighting really was like a dance, I offhandedly realized. And it wasn't just because of your quick footsteps as you moved around. No, rather, it was because of the way each motion flowed from one to the next. A slash became a block, and then a block became a second attack, from a different angle. This repeated, again and again, until you didn't even think about what you were doing. You just _did it_.

In a way, it was almost like poetry.

After a couple more minutes I let out a sigh. At the rate things were going, I was going to tire out long before Hiei would, which really wasn't good. And so, with a flick of my wrist and a pulse of my youki, my katana was wreathed in flames.

To my surprise however, Hiei didn't even blink at the sudden change in my sword. In fact, he smirked! Then, with a flick of his own wrist, his katana too was covered in flames. I felt my eyes widen marginally and then narrow. So Hiei was a fire youkai too? Interesting...

With a flash of steel, mine and Hiei's blades clashed once more. This time though the stakes had raised a bit.

As we fought, I concentrated on my hands. Then, just as Hiei pulled away from his last strike, I suddenly shot one hand out toward him.

Instantly, shadows stretched outward from my hand in the form of a tangible, black writhing mass. They stretched out in the air and then quickly snapped forward, wrapping around Hiei's wrist. Hiei immediately attempted to pull away, of course, but there was now a thick, unbreakable rope of shadows in between us. I grasped tightly onto my end of the rope, smiling as the shadows began to twist their way up Hiei's arm.

Hiei had a look of shock plastered across his face as he stared at the shadows. For a moment I thought that it was because he hadn't known that I could use shadows, but considering as he was one of the Reikai Tentai, I highly doubted that that was the case. And besides, I thought that I might have used them in front of him once before. No, I believed that he was surprised because he'd never seen tangible shadows before. Even Jason had been shocked when I'd first shown a talent for using them, even though I couldn't control them to a very large extent.

Hiei's expression of shock only increased as I suddenly yanked on the rope of shadows, causing him to stumble forward slightly. I made to slash at him, but, after regaining his balance, Hiei quickly blocked my attack with a single arm, just as I'd expected.

I continued on with the plan that had formulated in my mind just minutes before by suddenly jerking my shadow rope upward and towards me. This motion used Hiei's stance against him--he was leaning forward slightly--and pulled his feet out from underneath.

This time however it was Hiei's turn to shock me. As he fell forward he turned sharply, causing me to fly over him and toward the ground.

I cursed myself--and gravity--as I fell. I had no choice but to let go of my shadows or I would find myself pierced on the end of Hiei's katana. Making my choice _not_ to be a shish kabob, I let my shadows go and they quickly dissipated into thin air. I then twisted my body so that I landed on the balls of my feet on the other side of Hiei.

As soon as we straightened ourselves Hiei and I quickly moved away from each other. We circled warily for a moment, before leaping at each other once more. This time however, I slowly began to mix in both fire and shadow attacks into our fight. Hiei was caught off guard at first, but quickly adjusted.

It was my turn to be surprised however when, just a moment later, I suddenly found a blast of white hot flames headed for my face. At the last moment I managed to bat the flames away with my own ball of flames. Unfortunately, this also had the effect of causing a large explosion when the flames met, sending both Hiei and I flying backwards.

As I picked myself up off the ground, I couldn't help but grin widely at Hiei. So he was an accomplished fire youkai too, eh? Well that just made things infinitely more interesting. As if sensing my thoughts, Hiei returned my grin. His, however, was more of a barring of teeth than anything else. Come to think of it, I'd never really seen Hiei smile before. Smirk, yes, but not smile.

I was abruptly torn out of my musing as Hiei dashed forward once more, one fist flaming while the other held his katana out toward me. In response I brought my own blade up in defense. When Hiei finally reached me I blocked his sword with a loud screeching clang that echoed throughout the stadium and ducked under his punch at the same time. It flew over my head with barely even an inch to spare. I then moved to sweep his feet out from under him, but he leapt away before I could. Hiei and I circled each other for another moment before leaping at each other once more, quickly becoming mere blurs.

The two of us continued to fight fiercely, seemingly stalemated. He may have been the more experienced swordfighter, but what I lacked in experience I more than made up for with my other abilities. And since we also were about equal in speed, that put on at least a more even ground than I'd been on with Ty.

Finally, after several more minutes Hiei pulled away from me, a frown on his face. He seemed to be torn in indecision for a moment, before finally sighing in resignation. I watched him warily; unsure of what he was going to do.

Imagine my surprise when Hiei suddenly began to pull of the bandages around his right arm. I was only partially surprised at this since Hiei never takes off those bandages, but was more surprised at the fact that he was doing so _now_. What. The. Heck.

My surprised increased exponentially when then bandage dropped to the ground, revealing a tattoo of a black dragon wound all around his arm. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. I'd never have thought that Hiei would have a tattoo; that seemed to be more of something that Yusuke would do. At the same time however, my eyes narrowed. There had to be something more to this...

My suspicions were proven to be correct when the tattoo almost seemed to come alive. It lifted off Hiei's arm and seemed to form itself into a real live dragon with a dark aura hanging around it.

I took a step backwards, my mouth hanging open as I stared at the enormous black dragon growling down at me. "Holy _shit_!"

Seeing my shock, Hiei grinned viciously. I had no time to focus on him however as at that moment the dragon suddenly lunged at me, sweeping down from above. Using every ounce of my speed I dodged to the side, creating some fire as I did so. My fire had little effect however, as the dragon simply opened its maw and spewed out a breath of black flames which quickly overwhelmed my own. The dragon had been successful however and I'd managed to get away from the dragon without a scratch...Well, at least for the time being.

Seeing that I was gone, the dragon quickly swept around toward my direction. This time it used its tail to abruptly lash out at me. Surprised, I was unable to completely dodge away in time--especially considering its surprising quickness--and was caught on the side. I hissed in pain as the black dragon's tail retracted, my arm coming up to hold the bleeding gash.

When the dragon moved to strike again I darted away. At the same time I lifted one arm in a jerky motion up towards the dragon. Following my motion shadows from beneath were the dragon stood rose upward and wrapped around the dragon's neck, pulling him downward. The dragon roared in fury and brought his claws up to his neck to tear at whatever was holding him down, but his claws just went straight through the shadows and into his own neck instead.

The dragon screamed once more, though this time in pain, and suddenly seemed to be shrinking back in on itself. Before I knew it the black dragon had wrapped back around Hiei's arms, becoming a motionless tattoo once more.

As soon as the dragon was gone, Hiei staggered backwards a couple of steps. An expression of pain and exhaustion was clear on his face for a moment before he managed to right himself. Once he had he glared angrily at me. I couldn't help but let a small smirk come over my face.

'_Ha! Take that!_' I thought gleefully.

My smirk quickly fell however. Hiei may be exhausted now, but I was as well and Hiei was still stronger than me. Though I didn't like it, I knew that only a psychic attack could help me now.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for this. Then I quickly reached out towards Hiei's mind, preparing to enter--

--Only to slam into a metaphysical brick wall.

I gasped aloud in surprise as my eyes flew open and I stumbled back a couple of steps. I looked up to stare at Hiei in shock and found that he was now the one smirking at me in triumph.

I was in a slight state of shock. What the _heck_. This had never happened before! Not even Mr. Rawl's shields had been able to block me and due to Mr. Rawl's training I should have been able to slip around anyone's walls anyway! My eyes narrowed as I stared at Hiei. He knew something. I could tell by the amused look in his eyes that he did. The only question was _what_. What was stopping my psychic abilities?

As Hiei readied his katana for another attack, I let out another deep sigh. I had no choice now. If I wanted to have even the slightest chance at winning this fight, I was going to have to us _it_. My last resort.

Astral projection.

I breathed out once more and then, just as Hiei began to run at me, pulled entirely out of my own mind. As my body crumpled to the ground, Hiei's steps faltered. After a moment he finally slowed to a stop, staring at my motionless figure.

Meanwhile, I began to head towards Hiei. As soon as I reached him I dove into his mind. Fortunately, this time I met no resistance at all and soon found myself standing within a long, dark hallway. The temperature was quite warm, but, being a fire youkai myself, it had no effect on me.

I made my way to Hiei's youkai room in record time. As I reached out for the door's handle however, I suddenly froze. My instincts were screaming at me, telling me to leave, to not open the door. For perhaps the first time ever I pushed the feeling away, purposefully ignoring my instincts, and turned the handle and stepped into the room.

As soon as I was inside I felt as though I'd suddenly gone blind. The room was completely pitch black to the point that even with my advanced eyesight I couldn't see my hand an inch from my face. Cautiously I began to inch my way forwards, my hand held out before me. The door to Hiei's conscious room should be straight across the way, so if I just moved in a straight line--

Abruptly a cold wind brushed by me, causing goose bumps to break out all across my skin. I paused in my step for a moment, my hand lowering slightly in my confusion. Wind? How could there be wind here?

I froze completely as I suddenly felt an icy cold hand on the back of my neck, sending chills down my spine. Panic set into my mind and all thoughts left me as a deep male voice laughed lowly in my ear. I could feel his breath tickling my ear.

"Well, what do we have here?" he asked, dark amusement clear in his voice.

My eyes widened. That was _not_ Hiei's voice.


	38. Chapter 37: The Jagan

A/N: (**is hiding**) Please don't kill me after reading this chapter! I hated having to write this (you'll see why). I have nothing else to say because I'm sure that I'll be getting some shocked and angry responses. Please read and review! Ja ne! (**still hiding from readers**)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 37  
_The Jagan_

* * *

Quickly I spun around, striking out with one hand, but my fist met nothing but air. The laugh came again from behind me. I spun around once more, moving down into a defensive stance, but didn't attack. I was starting to realize that I wouldn't be able to fight against whoever this was--not here, in the dark.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What are you doing here?" And for that matter, I thought to myself, _how_ are you here?

The voice continued to chuckle. "Why am _I_ here? What about you? You certainly are not welcome here, and would not even have been able to access this mind had I not let you in."

I faltered. "...You let me in? What do you mean? Who are you?!"

"I am the Jagan," the voice answered simply. "To answer your earlier question, I am here because Hiei had me put here, though I do not think that he realizes the extent of my abilities. Nonetheless, I do what he asked of me and in return I have a host. Have you not noticed his 'last name'? It's Jaganshi: 'wielder of the Jagan'." As if sensing my shocked expression he let out another bark of laughter. "Do not be so surprised, child. One does not have to have a body in order to have a consciousness. I myself am a concentration of psychic energy. I manifest myself on the physical plane in the form of an eyeball--which, at the moment, is implanted in Hiei's forehead." He chuckled once more. "It's fitting, don't you think? An _eyeball_."

My mind reeling, I couldn't help but nod. An eye was often used as a symbol for psychic abilities. Being as caught up with these new revelations as I was I jumped when I suddenly felt a cold finger tracing my jaw line.

"But you," the Jagan continued, "You're such a fascinating specimen. Four bloodlines manifested in one person. All that energy..."

I took a step backwards, my eyes wide. "H-how do you...?!" I stuttered.

"How do I know? My dear, I _am_ psychic energy. I can see everything about you, all of your memories, every single thought that has ever passed through your mind..." His voice was at my ear again, causing me to shiver once more, though he wasn't standing in front of me. I was beginning to wonder if he was just a disembodied voice.

I took a deep breath. "Well, Jagan..." I began, sounding much braver than I felt. The Jagan could probably sense this too. "If you can see so much, then you probably know why I'm here."

The Jagan snorted and it almost sounded as though he was turning away from me, though I couldn't tell due to my lack of sight. "Yes, I know," he replied. "But I'm afraid that I can't help you there. I let you into Hiei's mind solely out of interest to meet you. What kind of person would I be if I just let you take over his mind?"

I wanted to wave my arms around and shout that he technically wasn't a person, but I knew that it would do me no good. Besides, I could kind of see it from his perspective. It _would_ be a bit strange if he just let me take over Hiei's mind.

"Well, I'm afraid that our little chat has come to an end," the Jagan said. "I hope to speak more with you later. For now however, I bid you farewell."

Quite suddenly I felt myself pushed out of Hiei's mind and back into my own. I groaned as I rolled over onto my hands and knees. Before I could make another movement however, a pair of feet came to a stop at the edge of my vision. I quickly looked up, only to have to cross my eyes to stare at the edge of Hiei's katana.

I looked past the blade, upwards towards Hiei's smirking face. "Damn it," I hissed. The Jagan had distracted me!

Hiei opened his mouth to reply when his eyes were suddenly drawn down to a point below my face. I scowled at first, thinking that he was staring at my chest, but the feel of cool metal around my neck quickly dissuaded me of this. A quick glance downward had me blanching: my necklace, the one that Hiei had given me, was hanging out for all the world--and more importantly, Hiei--to see.

My heart began beating quickly in panic just as my vision began to swim. 'Crap!' I thought. I'd been out of my body for too long on top of already being exhausted. I desperately attempted to keep a hold of my consciousness as I watched Hiei's eyes widen in shock and his katana fall out of his hands.

As I fell back into the darkness of unconsciousness I heard Jason yell out my name in worry from the sidelines. Hiei echoed it, though in a bit of a different tone.

"...Kristy?!"

* * *

I felt as though I was floating. Floating in darkness. It was a strange sensation, but not entirely unwelcome. I shivered suddenly, though I wasn't quite sure why.

"Little puppy," a smooth voice whispered through the darkness. "Wake up, little puppy." The voice seemed to wrap around me, causing me to shiver once more. I opened my mouth to reply--

--And was suddenly plunged into bright light. I instantly sat up, gasping for breath. Not at all recognizing the small, white room that I was in, and knowing that it definitely _wasn't_ where I'd passed out. I looked back and forth frantically, trying to get my bearings. Just as quickly, however, the memories of what had happened recently slammed into my mind with all the force and grace of a freight train.

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. 'Shit. Shit. _Shit_,' I thought. How was I going to fix this now?

I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of a door opening. I looked up, my eyes widening in surprise as I saw Jason peeking into the room.

Upon seeing that I was awake, Jason's eyes seemed to light up. He quickly slipped inside, a small grin on his face.

"Hey, you alright there?" he asked in concern, gently brushing some hair out of my face. "You've been out for a while."

Scowling, I batted his hand away, ignoring the grin that sprang to his face in response to my actions. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I said. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in the infirmary," Jason replied. "As for what hap--"

Before he could finish his sentence the door suddenly slammed opened once more. This time however it was, surprisingly, Yusuke who strolled in. He was soon followed by Chris, Jessica, Kurama, Kuwabara, Kiara, Hiei, Jin, and Touya.

"Oi, you're finally awake, Kristy?" he asked loudly. My mouth opened and closed a couple of times as I struggled to say through my surprise.

Seeing my shock, Jason's grin widened. "We told them," he said. "Everything."

I looked back and forth between Jason and the group. "But, they--I...uh..."

Kuwabara laughed. "Don't worry!" he exclaimed. "We're not going to tell Koenma or nothin'."

Kurama nodded. "And besides," he added, "I'm sure that he'd understand anyway."

Yusuke folded his hands behind his head, his usual cocky grin on his face. "And if he doesn't, we'll just pound him into the ground until he does!"

"Wait," I said my mind still reeling, "What about the tournament! What happened?"

At this Yusuke's face fell and he began to sulk. Jason, meanwhile, smiled widely.

"I won my fight against Yusuke," my brother told me. "We won the tournament!"

I practically beamed up at him. "Congratulations!" I exclaimed happily. "Now all you have to do is fight against Bashere."

"I will," Jason replied, nodding resolutely. "I will, and I will win."

And somehow, I knew that it was true. Jason had been training his whole life to take down Bashere. In a fight against him, he _would_ be the victor.

All of us continued to chat for a little bit. After a while however, Jason suddenly began to usher everyone out of the room. Eventually only Hiei and I were left. I eyed him worriedly as he slowly began to approach the bed that I was in.

"...Hiei," I started slowly. "I..." I trailed off, unsure of exactly what I wanted to say. I'm sorry for not telling you? No, I wasn't really. I'd done what I'd had to do, and I didn't regret it in the least.

Our awkward silence was broken by the sound of Hiei's chuckles. My eyes widened, showing my surprise.

"This...has been interesting," he commented. "You're a good fighter. You almost stalemated me."

I nodded. "It was indeed...interesting...to fight you too."

Hiei leaned back against the wall near my bed. "So, a youkai, huh? You always did seem to be a bit different from the rest."

I shrugged lightly. "I didn't even know until a day after I first met you," I admitted. "And what about you? Mr. Dragon Tattoo."

Hiei shrugged uncomfortably. "...Sorry about that," he replied. "But, you know..." He fingered the bandages wrapped around his arm. "...It's called the Dragon of Darkness," he said softly after a moment. "It took me forever to master control of it..."

I nodded my understanding. "I can see that," I replied. "He was massive..."

The two of us stayed silent for another minute before I slowly started to shift out of the bed. "How long have I been out for anyway?"

"You've only been unconscious for about a half an hour. The Healers took care of all your wounds." I nodded my thanks at his explanation.

"Well," I said brightly as I stood up completely. "We'd better get going then, ne? Lunch sounds really good right about now."

"Hn," Hiei grunted, smirking slightly. He opened the door and we both stepped out.

* * *

Ten minutes later found my friends and me walking along an empty upper balcony of the stadium. According to Kurama there was a quicker passage to the hotel this way. I was speaking with Jessica and Yusuke as we walked when I stopped abruptly, my eyes narrowing.

Before us, leaning up against the railing, was Bashere.

As we all stopped Bashere turned to face us. No one said a word for a minute before, finally, Jason stepped forward warily.

"Good luck with the upcoming fight," he said confidently. "May the best youkai win."

Slowly, Bashere let a smirk come over his face. "Yes," he began. "Unfortunately, it is not you that I wish to fight against." Without any other warning he was suddenly moving forward before my confused brother could even react.

I froze, becoming completely and utterly still. I stared with wide, shocked eyes at the sight before me, unable to believe what I was seeing. It couldn't be true. It _couldn't_.

Bashere was standing not an inch from Jason, his cold, cruel smirk contrasting greatly with Jason's shell-shocked face. Beneath the two, crimson blood was already starting to pool. It was originating from where Bashere's hand was shoved all the way through Jason's chest. I could see his claws protruding from Jason's back.

Time suddenly seemed to start up again. In one smooth motion Bashere jerked his arm out of Jason. Unsupported, Jason crumpled to the ground. Bashere let out a short bark of laughter and then glanced at me before turning and disappearing.

Jason's glazed, sightless sapphire eyes stared upwards toward the sunny, cloudless sky.


	39. Chapter 38: The Real Life

A/N: Yeah, I know everyone is upset about Jason. I am too; I hated having to do that, but I needed to for several reasons, most of which will be revealed later on. I am however glad that so many people like the Jagan and my personification of him (**grins**) He's going to be a fairly important character in the sequel, and is probably my second favorite character of the story, after Ty of course (**grins again**)

Guess what? This is the second to last chapter! (**cheers**) I can't believe it honestly. I already have the last chapter finished and am making headway on the sequel. Just to warn you, with the posting of the final chapter and the sequel (I'll post them at the same time) the series will officially be called the Battle Lord Chronicles. This means that when you go to read the last chapter, the name will have changed to "The Battle Lord Chronicles: Of Truths & Lies". It's just a heads up. Anyways, please read, review, and enjoy! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister. The song "The Real Life" belongs to Three Doors Down.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - This is first mentioned in chapter 12. Check back if you don't remember it. I told you that that chapter was going to be important later on (**grins**)

(2) - She's speaking of the girl from chapters 33 and 34 (particularly the end of 34). Look back if you don't remember.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi.**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 38  
_The Real Life_

* * *

"JASON?!"

Not even thinking, I dashed forward, dropping to my knees next to Jason's body. "Nononononononono," I moaned. I reached out and began to frantically shake his shoulders. "Get up, Jason! Get up!"

My hysteria seemed to break everyone out of their shocked stupors. Jessica let out a choked sob while Kiara took a few stumbling steps backwards, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

Chris quickly moved next to me, "Kristy," he said, his voice cracking.

_**I wanted to find somewhere to hide  
And I opened up and let those fears inside  
And I wanted to be anyone else  
Only to find that there was no one there but me**_

I felt something on my face. I reached up to touch it and my hand came back wet. '_Tears?_' I thought, feeling strangely detached. I hadn't noticed that I'd started crying. Nonetheless, I was indeed crying. Tears poured down my face and a few broken sobs tore themselves from my throat.

Abruptly, a wild fury seemed to burst its way up from within me. My face set in a vicious snarl, I leapt up from my position and spun around to where Bashere had been last.

"Bashere!" I roared. "Come back here you bastard!"

Quickly, Chris jumped up as well, grabbing onto my arm. When I jerked out of his grip and took a step forward he immediately wrapped his arms around me, pinning my arms to my sides and holding me back once more. Snarling angrily, I instantly began to struggle against him, attempting to break loose. He held on tightly until I managed to elbow him in the stomach, causing him to let go in order to grasp his stomach.

_**But I woke up to the real life  
And I realized It's not worth running from anymore  
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out  
That nothings real here but I won't stop now until I find a better part of me**_

Before I could move however Yusuke and Kurama were suddenly beside me, each holding onto one of my arms. They kept their grips as I struggled against them until I finally wore myself out. I dropped to my knees then, sobbing.

Time after that seemed to pass in a blur. I think that I might have passed out once, but I couldn't really remember. My mind was all hazy.

The first thing that I can clearly remember is lying curled upon my hotel bed. Both grief and anger were warring for supremacy in my mind. At the moment grief was winning; there would be plenty of time for anger later.

Jason was dead. That's all there was to it. My elder brother, the person whom had practically raised me, who had trained me, was dead. I couldn't think of anything else. My mind was clouded with thoughts of him. Sure, I'd gotten annoyed at Jason so often, but he was my brother. My _brother_. And he was dead.

I knew without a doubt why Bashere--the very thought of his name sent a spark of anger through me--had killed him. He'd just about said it after all. He wanted to fight me, not Jason, so he'd killed him. Just like that, without even blinking an eye. Like it didn't matter. And to him, it probably didn't.

_**I let those hard days get me down  
And all the things I hate got in my way  
I could've screamed without a sound  
I found myself silenced by those things they say**_

I heard the door to my room open and close, but I didn't pay it any mind. I then felt a pressure on the edge of my bed, signifying that the person had sat down. From their energy, I knew without looking that it was Hiei, I normally would have been surprised by his presence--it _was_ uncharacteristic of him--but at the moment the thought barely even passed through my mind.

"For a couple of months I kept having the same dream," I said suddenly. Hiei didn't reply, waiting for me to continue. "In the dream there was a faceless girl. She was running through some woods as fast as she could, being chased by a bunch of formless shapes--monsters. At the same time she was running towards an oasis, a paradise. Running from something and running toward something...

"I never was able to understand what the dream was about. I thought that it was just some stupid repeating nightmare that wouldn't leave me alone."**(1)**

I paused for a moment. "...I think..." I continued, "...I think that I understand it now. It wasn't just some girl who was running...it was me. For my whole life I've been running from things. From my past, my problems...At the same time I was striving for a happy, perfect life where nothing went wrong." I noticed that my tone had grown slightly bitter, but didn't care. "I feel...as though I've been sleeping for a long time. Dreaming. And now I'm just waking up. Waking up to the real world; my real life. Where things aren't always happy. Where I acknowledge that I do have problems. Where people..." My voice cracked slightly. "...Where people do die."

_**But I woke up to the real life  
And I realized It's not worth running from anymore  
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out  
That nothings real here but I won't stop now until I find a better part of me that's out there somewhere  
And It can't be that far away  
That's where I'll find myself  
And I'll find my way out  
That's where I'll find out**_

After that neither Hiei nor I said anything for a long time. I think that we were both contemplating my words. When Hiei did finally speak, it was in a slow, soft tone.

"I think that we all wake up from our childhood. Some get to wake up slowly, drifting from their sleep. Others, however, are jerked awake harshly. Either way, though, we all wake up. We all grow up."

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly. I'd never figured Hiei to be a metaphorical, poetic kind of guy.

"I have a little sister, you know," Hiei said suddenly. I found myself blinking in surprise. _Hiei_ had a _sister_?! "I could never imagine having to watch her die. I won't say that it will be alright--it won't be--but...you'll be fine, you know. You're strong enough to pull through this."

After another moment the weight lifted from the bed. A second later the door clicked shut, signaling Hiei's departure.

"...Thank you, Hiei," I murmured into the silence.

_**But I woke up to the real life  
And I realized It's not worth running from anymore  
When there was nowhere left to hide I found out  
That nothing's real here but I won't stop now until I find a better part of me**_

* * *

The next morning I left before anyone else was even up and headed toward the training grounds. Now that Jason was dead I was the one who was going to have to fight Bashere, so I needed to train as much as I could for that. I may have wasted one afternoon in my grief, but I still had two days before the fight and now that my sorrow had settled down a bit my anger was back in full force. I _would_ kill Bashere. He had taken every single member of my family away from me.

As I walked through the streets from the town all of the youkai whom happened to be up and about paused to stare at me. They said nothing and made no movements, but rather just silently followed me with their eyes. It was highly unnerving and sent shivers down my spine. I quickened my pace, half jogging until I reached the outskirts of town.

Once I was in an isolated training ground I began to work out my frustration while enhancing my technique. Like usual time seemed to fly by and before I knew it was already high noon. Panting as sweat poured down my face I came to a stop. One of my katana was held out before me between my two hands.

I began to lower my arms until I suddenly heard rustling sound behind me. Cursing my inattention--and wondering why I always seemed to be interrupted while I was training--I quickly spun around. I relaxed again however when a girl in Healer's robes pushed her way into the clearing.

I had nothing to fear from a Healer. They devoted their entire lives to the art of healing, to the point that it was almost physically impossible for them to purposefully harm another being. Well, that and if they broke their Healer vows by harming someone their own youki would instantly kill them.

Healers in the Makai were almost sacred, in a way. In a world filled with violence and warfare, people who did just the opposite were almost automatically revered. It was completely unthinkable to even harm a Healer in anyway, let alone kill one. I'd once heard a story from Jin about a youkai whom, in a rage, had hurt a Healer. All of the youkai around him had instantly torn into the youkai, killing him brutally.

It was interesting to see both the similarities and the differences between the Healers of the Makai and the doctors of the Ningenkai. One major difference was that, unlike doctors, Healers were not paid for their work. Instead they were given food and lodging wherever they went. There was no fear of anyone taking advantage of this; the blue robes of a Healer set them apart from the rest of the population and _no one_ would dare to impersonate a Healer.

Focusing my attention back onto the Healer, I watched in confusion as she hesitantly approached me. She looked familiar, I suddenly realized, and for a moment I thought that she was the Healer who had helped me when I was poisoned, but then I quickly noticed some slight differences. This girl's purple hair was much longer, for instance.

Once she was a few feet from me, the Healer stopped and gave me a quick, but deep bow. "I apologize for interrupting, Kristy-sama," she murmured.

My eyes widened in surprise at the title. I opened my mouth uncomfortably, but found that no words would come to me. Apparently taking my silence as a go-ahead to speak, the Healer continued.

"I am Yuki, a Healer. I have come to give you this." Quite suddenly she bowed deeply again, nearly bending in half. At the same time she thrust her hands forward in front of her, holding something out toward me. She stayed in that position until I had hesitantly accepted it.

Turning the object over in my hands I found it to be a jar of medical salve, for wounds, most likely. I looked up at Yuki questioningly.

"Ah, it's some salve I made," she told me brightly. "I've always been very good at making salves. I figured that it would be helpful to you, if you're ever wounded with no Healers around."

I nodded my thanks, but was still confused. "But...don't you work for Bashere? Why are you helping me?"

Yuki's expression darkened slightly. "I work for the Battle Lord of Makai, who just so happens to be Bashere-sama at this time." She hesitated then, glancing around as if afraid to continue. "Bashere-sama, he...He was fine at first. He was a good, strong youkai. But then...H-he, he was insane. There's no other way to say it. He started having these random bursts of irrational rage and violence. And because of his power no one was able to stop him.

"Eventually Bashere-sama brought back this tournament, even though it'd been banned. For the past 1000 or so years the Battle Lord have just been using singular challenges to decide the Lord, as in whoever challenged the Battle Lord and won--at any time--was the new Warlord.

"Bashere-sama's decision to bring back the tournament was very surprising, especially since he'd only been the Lord for about seven years. Even in the past tournaments were spaced 200 years apart. But then, little Bashere-sama does these days makes much sense."

Even if Yuki didn't, I understood why Bashere had held the tournament. He'd wanted to draw Jason and me out. His title hadn't been important; it'd just been a means to an end.

"Well," Yuki said. "He...he's gotten even worse within the past year." She paused to take a breath. "I have a sister, you see. She was a Healer too, in the infirmary--" My mind momentarily flashed to the Healer with the short purple hair that'd helped me when I'd been poisoned**(2)**. "--But just recently she disappeared. Everyone knows where she was last though. Bashere killed her. A _Healer_! And this isn't the first time either; it's well known that he's killed Healers before!"

I felt myself paling. Even I, born and raised in the Ningenkai, understood how much of an atrocious, unforgivable act it was to harm a Healer, let alone intentionally kill one. Why had no one stopped Bashere yet, especially since it was so clear that he was unstable?

"Everyone hates him, but no one can do anything about it," Yuki continued as if reading my mind. "People have tried to bring him down, certainly, but they've all disappeared without a trace. He- he's just too powerful." She then looked up at me with wide, pleading eyes. "Please, please stop Bashere-sama. I've seen you fight. With your linage, you're like no youkai that I've ever seen before. Please kill Bashere!"

I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly, but was unable to find any words to say. This certainly wasn't what I'd been expecting when I'd first seen Yuki. Did so many youkai really hate Bashere that much? Were they really that desperate to have him killed?

I would have fought my hardest against him anyway because I wanted revenge for my parents and my brother, but this situation was only adding fuel to the fire. Bashere was insane and a danger to himself and others. For the sake of the Makai, he needed to be taken out of power.

"I will," I said softly. "I will win against Bashere."

Yuki beamed down at me--even _she_ was taller than me, dammit!--and almost seemed to be shaking.

"Thank you," she managed to get out in a choked voice. "Thank you so much."

No more words needed to be said and so, after a moment, Yuki bowed low to me once more and then swept back into the foliage, out of sight. For a long time after she'd left I just stood in the middle of that clearing, jar of salve in hand, thinking. My mind was racing with thoughts of Bashere, Jason...Hiei...Kami, I was so confused. What should I do? How would I be able to get through this?

'_**You have such dark thoughts, little puppy,' **_a voice suddenly said, cutting through my mind. My eyes widened, immediately recognizing who it was.

'_**Jagan?!**_' I gasped. I quickly began looking around me. '_**How are you speaking to me? Is Hiei nearby or something?**_'

The Jagan chuckled. '_**I **__**am**__** the Jagan. I could speak to you if I was worlds away.**_' He offered to further explain and, in the end, I decided not to ask. Everything surrounding him was _way_ too confusing.

I let out a sigh. '_**Whatever. What do you want? I was in the middle of training...**_'

'_**Actually, you were in the middle of thinking.**_' Was it just me or did he sound amused?

'_**Yeah, well, I have a lot to think about,**_' I said defensively.

'_**Like that Healer's words, for one?**_'

'_**Eh? You heard that conversation?**_'

'_**No,**_' he replied simply. '_**And technically I couldn't have anyway, since I don't have ears.**_'

I paused, confused. '_**Wait, what? Then how did you know...?**_'

It was the Jagan's turn to sigh. '_**How many times am I going to have to tell you? I'm the Jagan. I see all.**_'

I flushed in embarrassment. '_**Erm, yes, well...**_'

The Jagan began chuckling suddenly. Slowly the sound began to fade, as if he was moving away. After a few moments it faded completely into silence and I knew that he was gone.

'_Well, that was rather pointless,_' I grumbled in annoyance. Why had he even "visited" me in the first place?

Letting out a huff of air, I began to walk off. My life was so screwed up it wasn't even funny.


	40. Chapter 39: Fiery Doubts

A/N: Holy crap, I can't believe that I've actually finished a story. It's a bloody miracle rolls over and dies That's right, this is the last chapter of the story (**grins**) I think that I'm happy with how all of this has turned out. There is one thing that I want to comment on though: You may have noticed that there hasn't been too much romance with Hiei. The reason for this is because I was using this first story to just kind of ease them into what will be their relationship. The actual romance will come in the sequel.

Speaking of which, **I'm putting up the sequel at the same time as I'm posting this.** So you can go check it out right away (**grins again**) I'm also posting a new story that I've been working on for almost a year now. It's in the Naruto genre and is called "Even After All These Years". Please check it out!

Well, please read, review, and enjoy the final chapter! Ja ne!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any related names or items. Kiara is owned by Yusuke'sSister.

Claimer: I do own the plot line, the title, the Kuro Tournament, Kristy, Jason, Jessica, Chris, Bashere, Rhurac, and anything else related to them.

(1) - I have a picture of what Bashere looks like, outfit and all. There's a link to it in my profile, under the pics section.

(2) - I have no idea what the character for "warlord" actually is and have been unable to find it. However, I'm guessing that most likely it's more than one character, or is "shogun" or something like that. For the purposes of this story however, I'm bending reality and saying that "warlord" is just one character.

"Talking"  
'_Thinking_'  
'_**Telepathy**_'

**Thanks to my beta reader, Anna Jaganshi!**

* * *

Of Truth & Lies

Chapter 39  
_Fiery Doubts_

* * *

The next two days passed in whirlwind of activity. After my little "chat" with the Jagan I'd returned to the hotel for lunch. Since then I'd trained almost nonstop with all of my friends, mainly in all-out battles with them. It'd been fairly difficult, but fun in a twisted way.

My friends had been treating me like a time bomb waiting to go off. They needn't have worried; my anger was simmering now, burning lowly and waiting for when I could have my revenge. I certainly was still angry, but I was determined now too. I may not have even been anywhere near Jason's skill level, but I _would_ win.

Before I knew it the third day had dawned and I was walking down the long hallway toward the arena. I was alone as the others had to go to the seating, and I was feeling unusually tense. It should be Jason walking down this hall, I thought. Not me. Not me.

Irregardless, I was the one walking towards the arena. Though determined, I was also a bundle of nerves. Bashere was insane and thus highly unpredictable. He could probably kill me pretty easily if he had the yearning to. I would just have to play my cards right and pray to Kami that I'd be able to kill him.

Before I knew it, I was entering the waiting room outside of the arena. I hesitated for a moment over the threshold, half wishing that the walk had taken longer. I was as ready as I'd ever be for something like this though, so I took a deep breath and pushed onward.

The room was empty except for the red skinned, white haired youkai who'd announced the match-ups during the tournament. It felt so strange to see the large room so empty. Before it'd always been filled with youkai and I'd always been there with my team...With Jason...I swallowed the lump that was forming in the back of my throat and approached the other youkai.

As I stopped before him, the youkai bowed deeply to me. "Good luck, Kristy-sama," he said softly without looking up.

I felt awkwardness welling up within me as I shifted uncomfortably. I really wasn't used to being treated like this.

"Thank you," I murmured and bowed slightly in return. As I turned toward the large double doors I didn't notice his eyes widen in surprise.

Taking a deep breath, I strode up to the doors. I hesitated for a moment and only a moment before pushing open both of the doors, my head held high. Instantly, the sound of roaring cheers met my ears, slamming into me with an almost physical force. My eyes widened as the crowd went absolutely insane, but I hid my surprise and continued forward.

With sure steps--though I wasn't quite feeling that way on the inside--I strode across the field in the middle of the arena. Bashere was already standing there, waiting.

As soon as I laid eyes on that vile youkai fury flared up within me. Here was the youkai whom had so casually killed Jason, and he was just standing there...!

At the same time, seeing him caused me to feel some small measure of guilt. After all, the only reason Bashere had killed Jason was because he'd wanted to fight me. _M_e. If only I hadn't caught Bashere's interest, if only...

No, I though suddenly, my eyes narrowing into a venomous glare. I couldn't and wouldn't shift the blame onto myself. Regardless of my actions, Bashere had done what he'd done completely by his own choice. No matter how much I wished otherwise, there was nothing that I could have done.

As I came to a stop before Bashere I continued to glare at him, attempting to pour all of my hate into my gaze. He, however, only smiled widely down at me. Now that I knew what to look for, I could clearly see an insane glint in his fathomless gaze. It sent shivers down my spine.

"Welcome one and all," the announcer suddenly boomed out over the noise of the crowd, which then began to settle down, "To the final fight of the Kuro Tournament! We have seen many great battles and many great fighters. It's all come to an end though with Team Kagekaze coming out on top!" The announcer had to pause for a minute as the crowd roared their approval once more. Once they'd quieted down again he said, "Now it has come down to the title match between Team Kagekaze's captain and Lord Bashere for the honor of the title Battle Lord of Makai.

"As I'm sure many of you have heard however, captain Jason is...unable to attend. In his place his vice-captain Kristy will be fighting. In this match there are no rules. Winner is the one left standing. Both fighters ready? Shihajimeru!"

While the announcer spoke I glared coldly at Bashere. The bastard just smirked all the while, seemingly unfazed by my actions. I also took the time to really study Bashere. He was wearing a red hooded cloak that was embroidered with gold and black. It looked quite elegant, even on--or perhaps especially on--him. He wore a black outfit underneath that that was mostly hidden.

What really caught my eye though were the metal boots and gauntlets that he wore. The gloves had sharp claws attached to the fingertips, making his hands almost look like a lion's paws**(1)**. He had no other visible weapon, though with his cloak mostly obscuring him, that wasn't saying much.

As soon as the announcer called out the start of the match I pulled out both of my katana and poured youki into them. Black flames sprung up instantly. This was a new technique I'd up come with only a day before. It combined both my fire and my shadows.

Without hesitating I struck out at Bashere. As the blades moved they left a trail of black behind them that moved slower, as if made of some heavier matter than regular fire, which indeed it was. Irregardless, Bashere easily caught one of my katana between his metal claws and shoved me back. I frowned heavily then, noticing his extreme strength and speed.

I pushed my thoughts away however and proceeded to slash at Bashere again and again, testing him. Each time he managed to either block or slip out of the way with disturbing, and, in a way, terrifying, ease.

Finally, as I stepped back, Bashere seemed to have had enough. He clashed with his claws but, surprisingly, not directly at me. Rather, he just slashed diagonally though the air between the two of us.

My confusions was remedied just moments later as the air that his claws had passed though seemed to explode outward with pure energy. The force of it threw me backwards, causing me to tumble a couple of times before I managed to land in a crouch.

I watched Bashere warily. Now that I thought about it I realized that I didn't even know what type of youkai Bashere was. He had no defining features and I'd never heard anyone mention it before. I swore mentally; before I'd always had at least some kind of an idea of what my opponent did. But now...Now I was fighting blind.

Bashere waited patiently for me to recover, seemingly completely unconcerned. I snarled lowly at the insult and quickly ran at him again. Before I could reach him however, Bashere slashed at me once more.

This time, before the shockwave could reach me I made a sweeping motion with one arm. Instantaneously shadows rose upward in the shape of a shield before me. Though it shook with the force, the shield managed to absorb the impact of Bashere's attack. It then quickly melted back into the ground, unable to hold its shape any longer.

I couldn't stop the grin that came to my face. Good; at least I had some way to combat against Bashere. In fact, this battle might best be fought without any blades at all. Thoughtfully, I glanced down at my two katana before coming to a decision. I abruptly took my youki from them and put them back in their sheathes.

As I turned my attention back onto Bashere I slid down into a fight stance, my fists up before me. At the same time I called up black shadow-flames around my fists. Now ready to fight, my grin gained an almost feral edge.

This time I didn't give Bashere a chance to attack me first. Instead I suddenly struck out with my fists from where I was standing. Instantly the shadow-fire flew from my fist in the form of large fireballs. Reacting immediately, Bashere twisted around to avoid the attacks. I continued to fight offensively, never letting up on a constant barrage of fire, shadows, and my shadow-fire.

Bashere avoided them all. It seemed that, no matter what I did, Bashere was always one step ahead of me. No matter how fast I moved, he was always faster. No matter how creative I tried to be, he always outwitted me. Slowly, I was starting to realize just how good Bashere really was.

Starting to get desperate, I sent out several normal fireballs in quick succession. Hidden amongst them were also tendrils of shadow-fire. When Bashere moved out of the way of the fireballs he was, to my luck, caught by surprise by the shadow-fire. It quickly moved as I instructed and wrapped around Bashere's shoulders.

For one moment of immense joy I thought that I finally had Bashere. Then, quite suddenly, the fire exploded outward, pushed away from him by some unseen force. I cursed inwardly as I allowed the shadow fire to dissipate, only to grin abruptly as I got a good look at Bashere: his cloak was singed. Good. This proved that he wasn't infallible. Not that I hadn't already known that, of course, but it was nice to see some solid proof directly in from of me.

Unfortunately, this turn in the battle also finally evoked a change in Bashere. His expression went from surprised, to angry, to confused, to almost gleeful. Finally he cackled loudly.

"Ah, so the wolf can bite back, can she?" he commented. "Good, good. This'll make things at least a bit more interesting."

I snarled wordlessly at him. Was he mocking me? Or did he honestly think that little of me? If that was the truth, then why the hell did he go through all the trouble of killing Jason, just so that he'd be able to fight me?

"Don't mock me," I growled out dangerously. Reacting to my extreme anger my youki rose up to the surface of my skin, manifesting itself as shadow-flames all over my body. I was literally on fire and my eyes were lit with power. I was going to _destroy_ Bashere, no matter the cost.

Without waiting for Bashere to react, I suddenly rushed at him. I was moving fast than I ever had before, though I barely even noticed. Using just the claws on my hands--one of the pluses to being an ookami youkai--I swiped at Bashere. Shadow-fire trailed along the path of my claws. Before I could even touch my opponent however, my claws were stopped by some invisible force.

Bashere grinned tauntingly at me as I struggled against whatever was holding my back. He flicked a finger then and I was suddenly thrown back with extreme force. I couldn't help but let out a cry as my back met the cold stone of the stadium wall. The stone actually cracked a bit behind me before I fell to the ground on my hands and knees.

As I panted heavily on the ground, attempting to keep the pain at bay, I glared up at Bashere as he slowly approached me. What the hell kind of youkai was he? As if sensing my thoughts, Bashere suddenly spoke.

"See, you're not the only psychic around here," he said. My eyes widened in surprise. Psychic? Bashere was a psychic youkai?! "Do you see now what you can do when you're fully trained? But you--" He scoffed. "--You use your abilities for simple mind tricks. You turn a blind eye to everything else that it can accomplish and just use your other abilities for fighting."

While he spoke Bashere lifted his hands up before him. Nearly invisible energy crackled between his palms, a testament to his strength.

I quickly scrambled to my feet, ignoring my protesting ribs. However, I couldn't help but think that Bashere was at least partly true, loathe as I was to agree with anything that he said. I never had thought much about using my psychic abilities for anything but telepathy and astral projection. Granted though, I'd never known that anyone could control their psychic ability the way that he could.

Now that I really thought about it, it actually did make sense that Bashere was a psychic youkai. After all, my mother had been a half psychic, half wind youkai and she was to be married to Bashere as a union between two clans. It would be logical if Bashere was either a psychic or wind youkai.

I frowned at Bashere. He was a fool to so openly give me such information; it would have been smarter to keep me in the dark. Did he think that it didn't matter if he lost that advantage, or was it just his insanity talking? After all, any good fighter knew better than to underestimate their opponent. Damn, the whole Bashere-is-insane thing could be so confusing.

Almost unconsciously, I heard something from above me. It should have been impossible since the roar of the crowd was enough to drown out almost anything, but it caused me to look up anyway, perhaps instinctually. Straight up the wall behind me, up to where the edge of the first row of seating was, I saw a pair of crimson red eyes.

Hiei.

He was leaning over the edge of the railing in front of the seating, staring down at me. My sharp eyes easily picked him out of the many youkai looking down without even really meaning to, my gaze locking onto his.

I stared at him for several long moments before turning back to Bashere again. '_Hiei..._' My fists tightened. '_I __will__ win this._'

Without a second thought, I tore across the arena towards Bashere once more, my claws slicing through the air. Bashere brought that invisible shield of his up once more, but this time I was ready for it and I immediately ripped it to shreds with my own psychic power. Shock showed on Bashere's face for a few scant seconds as I sailed past his defense before it was replaced with pain as my claws sunk into his flesh.

I lingered before Bashere for only a moment, savoring this new turn in the battle, before darting out of his reach. Bashere, meanwhile, let out a ferocious, inhuman roar that echoed through the stadium, even as the crowd went wild at the sight of Bashere's blood--I had drawn first blood in the fight, I realized offhandedly. As Bashere's eyes met mine I saw that his pupils had completely swallowed the rest of his eyes, leaving them pure black. On Bashere, it was beyond disconcerting.

Something else had caught my eye however. Through the area where Bashere's shirt had been cut, I could see a tattoo on his chest, right over where his heart was. It was the Japanese character for "warlord"**(2)**.

Bashere's eyes followed my gaze and he let out a toothy grin. "See that?" he asked roughly. His voice had a much more abrasive quality than usual. "That's the mark of the Battle Lord of Makai. You will _never_ have it."

Without hesitating for even a moment Bashere suddenly went on the offensive. His claws sang though the air as he sent slash after slash of power at me. I immediately pulled up a shield of shadows, pouring as much power into it as I could. The shield shook with each and every blow that hit it, but just barely managed to hold.

Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably not even a minute, the attacks stopped. I held completely still for a moment, just to make sure that the barrage was over. I was just about to peek around the shield when a final blast, _far_ stronger than all of the rest, slammed into my shadow shield. The shadows held for all of half a second before shattering, something which I hadn't previously thought possible for shadows. Bashere's attack continued on and slammed into me, creating three long, deep gashed from my left shoulder to my right hip.

I gasped in shock as I held an arm to the wound, only to have my eyes widen further when Bashere appeared not two feet in front of me, his deadly claws raised above him. Moving as quickly as I could I rolled to the side, out of the way. Basher slammed into the ground next to me, his claws digging into the stone frighteningly easily.

Bashere yanked his claws out of the ground and turned to me. Thinking desperately, I did the only thing that I could do in the position: At the same time that Bashere released a physic attack, I let out a large blast of flames. The two attacks collided and then exploded outwards, throwing both Bashere and I backwards.

I didn't take the time to recover, but instead quickly leapt to my feet and continued to attack with as much energy as I could muster. Bashere did the same thing, though of course with psychic energy instead of fire. Barely paying any attention to anything other than the two of us, we attacked, and attacked, and attacked, throwing everything we had at each other.

Though I hadn't really noticed it, an inferno had built up around us, feeding off our youki and stretching more than twenty feet up in the air. Flashes of physic energy and my shadow-fire showed themselves among it. Bashere and I paid our surroundings no mind however as neither of us were touched by the flames--me because as I fire youkai I was invulnerable to fire, and Bashere because his psychic abilities kept it at bay.

Though I hated him with all of my being, I couldn't help but marvel at how he fought. He was both graceful and powerful, like some force of nature. And he was quickly beginning to wear me down.

Before long I knew that I was starting to run low on energy. As much...fun...as this had been, I needed to wrap things up as soon as possible or I'd never have any chance of defeating Bashere. Though my wound was still throbbing, it was already beginning to heal slowly. My shirt wasn't too ruined from where Bashere had cut through it; thank Kami--_that_ would have been awkward.

As Bashere and I continued to circle around each other, I shoved one hand forward and began to let out a constant stream of fire. At the exact same time I used my other hand to create a stream of psychic energy. Because the two were both fed by my own youki they didn't counteract each other, but instead mixed, creating a high-powered attack.

Bashere's eyes widened at the sight of the unexpected attack. He quickly set up a psychic shield while diving out of the way. Unfortunately for him, his psychic shield reacted strangely with the psychic energy in my attack. As the two met the shield flickered and then began to _bend_, flexing outward. Bashere was hit by the shield as it moved and was thrown backward, directly into the path of my attack.

A roar echoed through the air as Bashere was hit. For several long seconds my view of him was completely blocked. Then, finally, the last of the smoke dissipated, revealing my hated opponent. I stared.

Bashere was on his knees, bloodied and burnt. His breathing was ragged and, because his head was bent, I couldn't see his face.

I too was breathing quite heavily as I stood, staring at him. I'd used up almost all of my energy with that last attack. I was struggling just to keep on my feet, but somehow managed it.

Once I was sure that I wouldn't collapse, I began to walk slowly towards Bashere. My footsteps rang loudly through the suddenly silent arena. Only when I stopped a foot from him did Bashere raise his head to stare at me. His eyes were glazed over, as if he wasn't really seeing me or anything around me. Still moving slowly, I pulled one of my katana from its sheath and placed it in front of me, resting not an inch from his throat.

"W-we have a winner," the announcer said, his voice--which sounded disbelieving, as if he couldn't quite comprehend what he was seeing--almost made me jump as it cut abrasively through the silence. "Kristy has defeated Bashere in single combat. We have a new Battle Lord!"

Instantly, the crowd let out a roar unlike anything I'd heard before, louder than ever. The inferno that still raged through the field had dropped below the wall, so they could be seen clearly. Almost everyone in the stadium had leapt to their feet and was cheering at the top of their lungs. The sound was literally deafening, especially on sensitive ears like mine.

Slowly, after several minutes, the cheering began to become a clear sentence. "_KILL HIM! KILL HIM!_" the crowd chanted. They all looked bloodthirsty.

Almost against my will, my hands raised my katana above my head, ready to drop down on Bashere. There, however, I stopped. I had killed before, yes, but that had been in the heat of battle. This was different. It was more like an execution that anything. I knew what I had to do, and _wanted_ to do it for revenge, but...Could I do it? Could I honestly kill anyone, even _him_, in cold blood like that?

Bashere's eyes sharpened as he caught on to my hesitation. His mouth formed a snarl and he bit out, "I will never fall." Then, before I could even react to his statement, his arm shot out, blue psychic energy crackling around it. From there the energy seemed to explode outward, moving out in wave.

My eyes widened in shock and fear as the wave of energy hit me. At the same time I saw a figure moving rapidly through the flames that surrounded us. Hiei, the fastest of my friends, was dashing toward me, his crimson eyes wide and one hand stretched out. Up in the stands behind him I could just barely make out the terrified faces of the rest of my friends. Then I felt the strangest sensation of sinking into water and I was enveloped by darkness.

I hadn't known that it would be the last time that I'd see my friends for eight years.


End file.
